Sight
by author12306
Summary: Marie didn't often find himself wondering about people's appearances, and Miranda didn't often find herself calm around someone else, but maybe they just need the others' presence to change these things. (Just a fluffy MirandaxMarie fic, rated because I am a paranoid writer)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 1

Miranda had gotten back from a long mission. Almost everyone in the Order was asleep except for her, a few finders, and one or two Exorcists scattered about the building. Of course Jerry was awake when she got to the cafeteria so she got a small dinner. It was around two in the morning and Miranda's eyes were sleepily slipping shut again and again as she struggled to stay awake long enough to finish her meal. She found herself barely managing to keep her head up before she stood up. She was able to stay awake for long periods of time, but she had kept Time Record activated for four days straight and hadn't been able to sleep on the train back, so she could hardly see straight. As a result of this she bumped into someone in the hallway. She mumbled an apology, but couldn't help falling asleep on the floor, in the middle of the hallway.

The one Miranda had bumped into was none other than Noise Marie, "Miranda?" He had recognized her voice from her mumbled apology. He only began to worry when he didn't get an answer from the normally panicked woman. As far as he could tell her pulse sounded normal, but he wanted to be certain she didn't have any injuries from her mission. He picked her up. He had reached the Order's infirmary.

"Oh, is she okay?" one of the many nurses that worked for the Head Nurse asked. Concern laced the girl's voice as she came over and felt Miranda's neck for a pulse.

"She passed out in the hallway, I think she might just be tired, though," Marie answered.

The nurse helped him lay Miranda on a bed, "I'll make sure to tell you how she's doing tomorrow."

"Thank you," Marie nodded and left back to his room. He had been going to his room before Miranda had run into him.

* * *

Miranda yawned as she woke up. She hardly remembered going back to her room the night before.

_I must have been really tired last night, _Miranda thought as she rolled onto her side and pulled the blanket higher up her shoulder. She had the habit of trying to catch an extra hour or two more of sleep after the first time she woke up in the morning. She had to admit, it was odd. The blanket was a lot stiffer than her own blankets in her room. She yawned again and opened her eyes. It didn't take her more than a few moments to realize she wasn't in her own room, but in the infirmary.

"Oh good, you're awake. You can go to your room now if you want," one of the nurses who served under the Head Nurse greeted cheerfully.

"O-okay. How exactly did I get here?" Miranda asked. She was more than a little confused and concerned.

The nurse smiled, "You were just exhausted, and you passed out in the hallway. Noise Marie was kind enough to bring you here just so we could be sure you were alright."

"I'm so sorry for any trouble I may have caused. Thank you for taking care of me," Miranda suddenly wondered if she had been taking up a bed they had needed, but upon looking around she saw no one else was in the large room. All of the other beds were empty.

"You were no trouble at all, dear. Just try not to let yourself get that exhausted again, otherwise you might just fall asleep on the floor in the hallway somewhere," the nurse smiled in a friendly manner and waved as Miranda left.

First, Miranda decided, she would go get some breakfast. Then she would go to her room and change, maybe brush her hair. After that she would find Marie and thank him for taking her to the infirmary the night before. Miraculously her breakfast went by with no broken plates or spilled drinks. For once her hair was easy to brush. She managed to find Marie's room with only having to ask five people for directions.

She knocked lightly on the door and waited. There was no answer. She tried knocking again, slightly louder this time. She still got no answer. _He's probably out somewhere. I'm sure I'll run into him soon. I can thank him then._

She turned and walked off down the hallway as she thought this. She had been watching her own feet as she walked to avoid tripping, and didn't notice the person walking ahead of her. Now normally, most people would have moved to let her pass, but this particular person couldn't see exactly where in the hallway she was and only knew she was there. Needless to say, Marie was much less startled than Miranda when she accidentally ran into him while she was walking.

Miranda stumbled back two steps, "I'm so sorry. Oh, I should have been watching where I was going!"

"It's fine," Marie assured her.

"Are you sure? You're not hurt?" Miranda asked.

"I'm fine, Miranda. I should have paid more attention to where your footsteps were coming from," Marie assured her again with a slight smile, "I should be asking if you're okay."

"No, it wasn't your fault. I'm alright," Miranda smiled. She knew he couldn't see she was smiling but she hoped he could hear it in her voice, "Oh, I wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Marie asked. He couldn't think of a reason she would have to thank him.

"For taking me to the infirmary after I fell asleep in the hallway. Sorry if I worried you, with that. I was just really tired and once I'd fallen down and was laying on the floor I couldn't keep myself awake any longer," Miranda laughed lightly, "It means a lot to know someone worried enough about me to take me to the infirmary instead of just leaving me to sleep on the floor."

"I'm glad you're okay," Marie was indescribably relieved to know that she was okay.

Miranda blushed, "Thank you."

Marie could hear Miranda's pulse quicken just a little bit. He had grown to associate that small increase in someone's pulse with embarrassment or being flustered. It usually meant that the person he was talking to was blushing, "You're welcome. I was just about to go to the town to buy a few things. Would you like to come?"

"Yes, that would be lovely," Miranda smiled, "I need to buy a few things, too, let me go get my wallet really quick."

"I'll wait here, then," Marie assured. He half expected her to get lost either on the way to her room or back, but he didn't want to make her feel like she was totally helpless by going with her.

Miranda was determined not to get lost and make Marie wait too long for her, and her determination paid off when she made it back to where Marie was waiting after only five minutes.

With that, the two set out to the small town below the Order's tower.

* * *

A/N: Hey y'all! :D I know, if you read any of my other stories you're probably thinking "Oh god, not another one" but I promise that this story will not suck/ be super violent and bloody (not sure if any of my D. Gray-man fic readers have read my bloodiest fic, it's a Legend of Korra story and I have appropriately nicknamed it my Slaughter Story because I basically just write it to kill off the characters and torture the ones who live) and I promise my updates for this one won't be as slow and spastic. I've been really bad about slow updates recently, but seeing as I'm getting close to finishing one, and possibly two, of my other stories then soon this and one of my others will have my full attention. This is just gonna mostly be a long, drawn out, sweet, fluffy, MirandaxMarie fic, and it's basically gonna show their relationship blooming and developing over time. I'm gonna skip around a bunch here, to avoid some of the parts of the manga I don't remember too well, and most of this story is gonna take place before and after the Ark Ark, so that's just a warning. The reason for the title will come in a LOT later on, but I'm super excited for it. Sorry for the LONG author's note, I just felt the need to apologize for my spastic updates and violent writing. Thanks so much for taking time out of your valuable lives to read this, please review~


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man

* * *

Chapter 2

Miranda was rather surprised that it was only noon when they had reached the bustling town, she had thought it was much later in the afternoon when they had left. But there they stood, just after noon, in the town.

"Where do you need to go?" Miranda asked Marie. She herself needed to get some soap, and a small local store sold a type of soap she preferred, but she didn't want to be a bother, since she was invited to come. She planned to go buy what she needed after Marie went wherever he had initially planned to go.

"The music store," Marie answered, and added a moment later, as if as an afterthought, "There's an old piano at the Order, I need to see if they could repair it."

"Oh, I didn't even realize there were any type of instruments at the Order," Miranda blinked.

Marie chuckled, "I didn't either until I offered to help the Science Department clean out an old storage room. There was a piano, and an old violin."

"That's really interesting," Miranda smiled. She had never really been able to play any musical instrument she had attempted to learn to play. She always ended up breaking the instrument, or just doing everything wrong no matter how many times someone corrected her. Music just wasn't her talent, sadly.

"There was also an old bird cage. I think I remember when one or two of the old Exorcists kept birds. Teidoll always loved to keep birds," Marie reminisced.

"I didn't know Exorcists were allowed to keep pets. What happened to the birds if their owner..." Miranda didn't want to finish her sentence, but Marie didn't need her to finish.

"Then they're usually given to another member of the Order. Or sold to a pet store," he answered, "It was generally discouraged, though. The last person to really own a pet within the Order was Teidoll. He had to get rid of them when he became a General because he began spending so much time away from the Order. He had a pair of songbirds, though I can't recall what type they were."

"That sounds like it would have been lovely," Miranda smiled. She had never trusted herself to keep pets, but she loved to watch birds, "Song birds really are pretty, don't you think?"

Marie didn't answer right off, he was actually trying to remember what they looked like, but Miranda spoke again before he could answer.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! That was truly inconsiderate of me, I forgot! I'm so sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude," Miranda suddenly began babbling, every other word or so sounding like an apology.

"It's fine," Marie smiled. He knew it was easy for people to forget he was blind; he never acted like he was, anyways.

"No, I really do need to be more considerate with the things I say," Miranda sadly shook her head and denied his reassurance.

Marie, despite his calm nature, sighed in frustration, "Miranda, you did not offend me, I promise."

Miranda still seemed more than a little reluctant to believe him. They soon reached the music shop, and Miranda decided it was wise for her to wait outside. She could hardly walk through a library without knocking a shelf down, and unlike instruments, books weren't breakable.

Marie went in, asked if they could repair a piano, when they could repair it, and when he should have someone drop it off at the small shop. It didn't take him more than five minutes before he left the shop.

In those five minutes, unfortunately, Miranda hadn't faired too well. A carriage had drove through a rather large puddle beside the sidewalk and splashed her, and then someone had stolen her wallet right from her pocket.

"Are you alright, Miranda?" Marie could tell something was wrong with her as soon as he could hear hurt pulse and breathing.

"Oh, of course," Miranda lied. She could always earn more money by helping the Science Department clean some of their storage rooms.

"What happened?" Marie was unconvinced.

"I got pick-pocketed," Miranda sighed despairingly, "And my clothes are soaked."

Marie focused on all of the sounds around them, and heard someone talking,

"_Yeah, she was so easy to rob. She didn't even try to chase me._"

"Miranda, I think I found the person who stole your wallet," Marie said and began walking in the direction. He knew Miranda would follow.

Miranda followed in the wake he left in the crowd. Someone of Marie's height could easily create a path through even the most dense of crowds; Miranda gratefully kept up. Since she was someone of rather short height and stature getting through large crowds always troubled her, she always got pushed around and knocked down.

"Hey, it's the lady you got that wallet from," one of three teenage boys exclaimed to his two friends when he saw Miranda.

They took off, and Marie effortlessly picked up his own pace to follow them. Miranda, having far shorter legs, had to run quickly to keep up. She was gasping for breath by the time she skidded to a halt behind Marie.

"How did you not notice she had such a scary guy with her?" one of the three boys quietly hissed at the pick-pocket.

"He wasn't there when I took her wallet, I swear," the boy who had taken her walled answered back.

"Uhm, excuse me, but could you please return my wallet?" Miranda asked, barely looking around Marie to make sure it was the boy who had taken her wallet.

"Yeah, sorry for taking it. That was just a joke, right guys?" the boy quickly handed her wallet back and went back to cower behind his friends.

"Thank you," Miranda smiled.

"That lady was weird, but never, I mean never, steal from her again. I don't wanna make that guy mad," one of the boys with the pick-pocket said after Miranda and Marie had left.

* * *

Miranda looked at the over-crowded cafeteria with unease. She hardly knew any of the other exorcists or finders and usually preferred to find a less crowded table and sit there, where she wouldn't be in anyone's way. Unfortunately for her, however, there were no empty tables. After ordering her food and getting her plate she scanned the room. She was relieved when she saw Marie sitting at a table. Thankfully, she noticed, there was an empty chair next to him.

"Excuse me, Marie, but is the seat to your right taken?" Miranda asked.

"No one is sitting there," Marie responded.

Miranda sat down and began to eat quietly.

"How have you been enjoying the Order?" Marie asked.

"It's very nice here. I'm glad I can finally be of at least a small use to people, or will be of some use eventually," Miranda smiled.

Hearing Miranda speak so negatively about herself made Marie sad, but he didn't show it. Voicing this would just make her think more negatively about herself.

"I'm glad you like it here. How long have you been here?" Marie knew she hadn't been there long but he wasn't exactly sure how long she had been there.

"Just over a month, I think," Miranda answered, "Not long enough to do anything, really."

"Oh, Marie, you're needed in Komui's office," one of the members of the Science Division said as he hurried by their table with a stack of papers.

"Alright," Marie called back.

Later on by another table the scientist told Daisya he was needed in Komui's office as well.

"You're probably going on a mission, right? Good luck, come back safe," Miranda said to Marie as he left.

"I'll see you when I come back," Marie smiled back.

Sadly, neither would see each other for a long time after that.

* * *

A/N: Hey y'all, thanks a bunch for reading :D Reviews are appreciated. Any advice on writing, am I getting them in character?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

A/N: Okay, so this chapter isn't necessarily gonna start off as fluffy and cute as it should, but it will get better I promise! Also I am twisting a few details because I do NOT wanna go back and look for those itsy bitsy details on the wikia every time I forget about little things from this ark, so if something is wrong just know I do not really want to go back and fix it.

* * *

Chapter 3

"Marie, hello, it's Miranda," Miranda said. She and Marie had gotten permission from Komui to talk over their golems, when they got the chance. Shortly after Marie had left on his mission with Daisya to meet up with Kanda Miranda had found herself almost afraid to even leave her room of the Order. It wasn't that she didn't trust the members of the Order, but she didn't know many people, and all of the people she knew were currently gone on missions. Since Marie and her had been getting along so well before he had to go she had asked Komui if it would be alright to talk over their golems.

"_Hello, Miranda,_" Marie responded back.

"How's your mission going?" Miranda asked.

"_It's been uneventful. We're still on our way to Barcelona and we haven't met up with Kanda yet. And how are you?_" Marie responded before asking a question of his own.

"I'm doing fine. I still haven't gotten any missions of my own, yet," Miranda answered.

"_I'm sure you'll have something to do soon,_" Marie said.

"You're going to get to see your old teacher again, right? Are you excited to see him?" Miranda asked. She always had trouble keeping conversations going, but she didn't want to stop talking to Marie because he had a familiar voice.

"_Yes, I'm very glad. He's been away from the European Branch for at least a year, it will be good to talk to him again,_" Marie's voice sounded happy.

"That's good, I'm glad you're happy," Miranda couldn't help but smile. Marie always seemed so serious about everything; hearing him happy about something was a very seldom thing.

"_I have to go now, Miranda,_" Marie said.

"Oh, right. Goodbye, I'll try to get in contact with you again soon," Miranda answered back.

* * *

Marie waited, patiently, for Miranda to answer her golem.

"Ya calling your girlfriend again?" Daisya teased.

"Be quiet," Marie answered simply. He had long since gotten over Daisya's childish teasing. The call stopped ringing as someone picked up.

"_S-Sorry for taking so long to answer, Marie. How are you doing today?_" Miranda answered; she was speaking quickly.

"It's fine, Miranda," Marie assured, as he usually did, before answering her question, "I'm doing very well today. What about you?"

"_I'm doing wonderful,_" Miranda answered back cheerfully. It was odd, Marie had to admit, to hear her so happy, "_How is your mission going?_"

"It's going fine," Marie answered, "Daisya and I still haven't met up with Kanda yet, but we should be arriving near the meeting place the day after tomorrow."

"_That's great,_" Miranda sounded like she was smiling, "_I don't really have much time to talk today, though. I'm supposed to help a few of the finders move around some furniture in some of the unused rooms. I'll talk to you next time, though._"

"Goodbye, be careful not to hurt yourself," Marie warned with a good-natured laugh.

"When are you gonna tell her you love her?" Daisya asked in a taunting voice.

Marie, from years of experience, ignored him.

* * *

"Marie?" Miranda said cautiously when someone had answered her call. She had heard about the incident in Barcelona, and she knew that Daisya and Marie had been quite close, so she wanted to make sure that Marie was doing alright.

"Hello, Miranda," Marie's voice lacked its usual emotion.

"H-How are you doing? I heard what happened, Marie, and I am so, so sorry," Miranda said quietly.

"I'm doing... alright," Marie answered, his voice sounded flat and broken, "How has it been back at headquarters?"

"Not much better, I'm afraid," Miranda responded glumly, "They're going to have a mass funeral tomorrow, for all of the finders and the exorcists that have been shipped back."

Marie was silent for a moment, "Please take care of yourself, Miranda."

"I will, Marie. Be careful, yourself. Please come back safe," Miranda responded.

* * *

Marie leaned against the railing of the ship he, Kanda, and Teidoll were on. The vessel was headed to Japan so they could meet another group of exorcists in Edo. Almost all of the members of the ship's crew were uneasy about Marie, seeing as he was blind, being near the ship's railing, but Marie knew he wouldn't fall into the water as long as he was careful. Marie didn't know who all was alive or dead out of the exorcists he had last seen. He briefly wondered about Miranda. After that the incident in Barcelona there had been less opportunities to talk, and then Miranda stopped answering all together for some reason.

Marie had been grief-stricken at the thought of losing both Daisya, who had been like a brother, and Miranda, who he cared dearly for, in such a short period of time.

Someone leaned against the railing beside Marie, "Is everything alright?"

"I'm just thinking," Marie recognized the voice as General Teidoll's voice.

"About anything in particular?" Teidoll asked.

"About a friend," Marie answered.

Teidoll hummed thoughtfully in response, "Are they from the Order?"

"Yes, they're an exorcist," Marie nodded.

"You're worried about them, aren't you?" Teidoll asked. There was the light sound of pencil on paper and Marie could tell Teidoll was sketching the sea.

"Yes, we had been communicating regularly before..." Marie faltered when mentioning the city. Neither he, Kanda, nor Teidoll liked to think about what had happened. Luckily Teidoll seemed to understand, so Marie continued, "But we began to have less and less opportunities to speak. I don't even know if she's still alive."

"I'm not sure, Marie," Teidoll patted Marie's shoulder in a comforting manner, "I'm sure we'll know soon enough, though. So, tell me about this friend."

Marie had expected this to pop up eventually. Teidoll was always trying to get him and Kanda to be more social, and the fact that Marie had befriended someone probably seemed like a miracle to the General. "Her name is Miranda Lotto. We didn't really talk very much until she had gotten back from one of her first missions and had accidentally run into me in the halls. I thought she had been hurt at the time, because she had fallen asleep in the middle of the hallway, so I took her to the infirmary. After that she just seemed to gravitate towards me, you could say. She didn't know very many people in the Order. When I got called to go look for you with Daisya and Kanda, we started talking over our golems whenever we could spare a moment. I'm sure you've probably heard her reputation around the Order. She's very kind, but she's very panicky, and I don't think she even knows what self-confidence is."

"You're speaking fondly of her. Does Marie have a crush?" Teidoll teased.

Blood rushed to Marie's cheeks and caused him to blush a bright pink. Oddly enough, Marie didn't deny his master's teasing.

"She's very pretty. I talked to her once just before she made it back to the European Branch for the first time," Teidoll stated.

"What does she look like?" this wasn't the first time Marie had asked Teidoll, or Kanda, to describe someone or something for him.

"She has pale skin, very fair skin. Her eyes are slightly sunken, they're a very nice brown. Her hair is almost black, it has a bit of brown to it, and it reaches her shoulders. Her hair is also wavy. Lets see, her nose is rather small for her face. She has a very fragile build, she's skinny," Teidoll described. As he described her he did a quick sketch of her face to make sure the way he had described her fit.

Marie tried to picture her in his head, and he had a slight idea what she looked like, but he wished he could actually see her.

"I'm sure she's doing alright," Teidoll assured gently.

"You're probably right," Marie nodded.

* * *

Exhaustion dragged at Miranda's thoughts. She had to keep herself awake by any means necessary; that much was certain. She had tried so many things to stay awake and so far the only think that worked was talking to someone. Lenalee was still resting from her fight with the level three akuma, Miranda saw it was best to leave her alone. Lavi and Krory were also recovering their energy from the fight. This left Miranda to sit in the very noisy mess hall and sleeping quarters of the crew to stay awake. She would try desperately to start conversations with any of the crew members who could spare her the time.

The noise of everyone talking pounded against her eardrums and made her want to go back to her own quiet room, but then she would risk falling asleep. She couldn't or the ship would sink. Her thoughts began to wander in her sleep-deprived state to the feeling of guilt she felt for not being able to tell Marie she was being sent on a mission and wouldn't be able to contact him. She wondered how he was doing.

"Are you okay, Miss Exorcist?" one of the crew members asked as he sat down beside her.

"Yes, just a little tired," Miranda assured with as convincing a smile as she could muster.

A sudden look of realization dawned on the crew member's face, "You're the one who has to stay awake to keep the ship sailing, right?"

"Yes, I'm surprised you would even remember hearing about that," Miranda said.

"Yeah, we were all kinda thinking you were pretty amazing if you could stay awake for this long," he nodded.

Miranda managed a small chuckle, "Once I managed to stay up for ten days straight."

"Really? How?" the young man's eyes widened in either amazement or surprise.

"I couldn't sleep, I was too ashamed of myself for losing too many jobs," the atmosphere around Miranda seemed to grow heavy and cold as she gave a small, tired laugh.

"I'm sure you couldn't have lost _that _many jobs," he pointed out.

"I could, actually. I lost one hundred jobs before I discovered I was an accommodator," Miranda answered.

The conversation just seemed to die after this, and Miranda found it harder than ever to stay awake. Her thoughts wandered back to her fellow exorcists, and eventually Marie. No one had heard anything from his group since they got news that Daisya died in Barcelona.

* * *

Miranda couldn't believe it. She focused on Time Record again, but she still couldn't find Kanda's time amongst those of the other exorcists in the Ark.

"Miranda? What's wrong?" Marie asked. He could hear the change in her breathing.

Miranda could hardly bring herself to say it. She knew how dear Kanda was to Marie, and she didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. Finally she managed to say, "Kanda's time disappeared."

Marie didn't say anything for a long time, but when next he spoke it was to relay the news to Teidoll.

About an hour had passed, and no one in the group said anything. Miranda had lost track of another person's time. Krory's.

She didn't want to have to tell the others, so she quietly stood and walked to the bridge they had previously been taking shelter under. It didn't take long for someone to notice her absence, though, and soon Marie had come over to where she was sitting.

"Someone else died," Miranda whispered.

"Do you know who?" Marie asked.

"Arystar Krory," Miranda answered, "I'm so useless, Marie. I couldn't help anyone on the ship, and now I can't help any of them."

"You're not useless, Miranda," Marie assured gently, "If it weren't for you, half of us who are here right now would be dead from our injuries. Because of you we can live until we get medical attention."

"But what about all of the people I couldn't save? That outnumbers anything else I've ever accomplished," Miranda had begun crying.

"Miranda, you don't have to save everyone. We all know the risks of our job," Marie said.

"B-But I should be able to save more people," Miranda whimpered. She began to cry even harder as another time disappeared from the record, then another. They were all dead, except Allen and Lenalee. Miranda's shoulders shook as she sobbed, and she was surprised when Marie hugged her.

"It's not your fault that your innocence can't completely heal people, Miranda. It's not your fault that the Noah are killing people," Marie whispered.

Miranda buried her face against his shoulder. The physical contact was calming, and soon she had managed to slow her crying to a few strangled, quiet sobs every few moments, "Won't everyone else hate me, for not being able to save the others?"

"No one expects you to be able to save everyone, Miranda. They won't be mad, they could never hate you," Marie assured.

"Marie, do you hate me for not being able to save Kanda?" Miranda asked uncertainly.

"Never," Marie answered, "I could never hate you."

_I'm so happy, to hear that from him. But I'm such an awful person, being happy in a situation like this, _Miranda thought as she pulled out of the hug. Suddenly her eyes widened as the lost times, Kanda's, Krory's, Chaoiji's, Lavi's, they all returned at once and she wanted to laugh with joy, "They're not dead. Marie, Kanda is alive."

Marie smiled, it was a truly grateful smile. He didn't think he could stand to lose Kanda, so soon after losing Daisya.

"I'm going to go tell the others," Miranda smiled. She wiped at the drying tears on her cheeks as she stood up and walked out from under the bridge.

Marie followed close behind her. His smile grew as he heard the others reactions to the news. And, before long an Ark gate opened. He was overjoyed to hear Kanda's voice.

"Don't touch me," Kanda glared at Teidoll, who was hugging him and blubbering about how glad he was that his son was safe and well.

Miranda watched the happy reunion of all of the others from a ways back. She didn't really know very many of them too well, and felt it was best to let them all enjoy themselves as the remaining finders and exorcists who had been outside of the Ark rushed to meet their recently revived comrades. She watched as Chaoiji and his friends, the only other survivors from the crew, hugged, welcomed, and talked. She laughed lightly at Kanda's reaction to being hugged by both Teidoll and Marie. Seeing all of the others happy made her happy too. And soon they were all going to the Asia Branch to borrow a phone. She stayed on the Ark to keep an eye on Krory, whose injuries were by far the worst.

She knew, once they returned to the European Branch, she would have to deactivate her innocence so the others could be treated for their wounds, but she was afraid to. She was afraid that, without her help, their injuries would kill them. Though she was a little happy she would be able to rest soon. She was exhausted, not just mentally but physically as well. Activating her innocence for such long periods of time usually left her muscles achy and her movements clumsy.

"We're going back now," Allen opened an Ark door into the 14th's Piano Room.

"Okay," Miranda nodded and stood up. She followed him out, and instead of ending up in another part of the Ark she was standing in the Order's European Branch. This surprised her greatly, and she couldn't help but gape at the sudden change in her surroundings. A few of the nurses under the command of the head nurse went to get Krory from the Piano Room. They returned a few moments later with him on a stretcher.

"Alright, Miranda, you can deactivate your innocence now," Marie coaxed.

Miranda suddenly felt more helpless than ever, "B-but you all's injuries will return."

"It's fine, we'll be able to get treatment for them now," Lavi assured.

"We'll all be fine, Miranda," Lenalee smiled.

Miranda blinked away her tears as she deactivated Time Record. Her thoughts were muddled by exhaustion after that, though, and she only remembered being led to one wing of the infirmary where they left her to sleep.

* * *

Miranda walked beside Marie down one of the hallways. Technically, neither of them was supposed to be out of the infirmary, but they had both been rather restless and found getting away and walking through the quieter halls of the Order was a nice change to the crowded, bustling atmospheres of the infirmary. She timidly reached over and took Marie's hand.

This seemed to startled the blind man, but only momentarily, "How have you been doing, since we got back?"

"Wonderful. I don't even think I need to be in the infirmary anymore- I'm just taking up needed space and effort- but they still won't allow me to leave," Miranda answered, "I should be asking how you're doing. Are you injuries healing okay?"

"Yes, I wasn't hurt very badly. If anything, I'm just taking up space as well. It would be nice if I could go back to my room soon, if only to escape all of the noise in the infirmary," Marie answered.

"Is it very loud in the male wing of the infirmary?" Miranda asked in surprise. The small section of the infirmary divided for the female exorcists was usually very quiet and peaceful.

Marie's sigh answered the question, "I don't know what is the loudest, Krory's stomach or Allen and Kanda's arguing."

"If you told the head nurse it was too loud, I'm sure she'd probably let you go back to your own room," Miranda pointed out.

"Yes, probably, but she never stays in the infirmary long enough for me to ask. She's usually going to check on Lenalee," Marie responded.

"Oh, maybe I can bring it up next time she's around," Miranda smiled. She had shifted her position slightly so she was lightly hugging Marie's arm while she walked. She wasn't normally this affectionate, but she was still a little terrified from almost losing so many of her friends.

Marie smiled as he felt her hugging his arm, "Do you want to go to the cafeteria?"

"Okay," Miranda nodded.

They went to the cafeteria, ordered their food, waited for a few moments before Jerry called their orders, and then went to one of the empty tables. Recently the Order had been far emptier than normal.

"It's so quiet in here," Miranda stated sadly, "Most of the finders are dead, aren't they?"

"Yes," Marie answered, "Most of the finders have been killed, as have quite a few of the other exorcists in this branch and the others."

"Does this happen a lot, Marie?" Miranda asked.

"There are times where many of the exorcists and finders will be killed at nearly the same time, yes, but it isn't usually this extreme," Marie explained, "Sometimes, maybe, three or four exorcists and five or six finders will be killed on one mission. This is the worst I've ever seen it."

"This is the first time, I think, that I've been one of the only people in here," Miranda stated sadly as she rested her chin in her palm, her elbow was propped up on the table. Her and Marie were the only two people in the cafeteria aside from Jerry, but he seemed to be far too busy cooking to notice their conversation.

Marie, trying to cheer Miranda up, awkwardly wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a side-hug. He had never been very good at cheering people up, but he couldn't stand to hear Miranda sound so gloomy.

Miranda blushed and leaned into the hug so that she was leaning against Marie's side. "Thank you," she whispered.

Marie didn't know how to respond to the thanks, so he simply whispered back, "You're welcome."

Miranda smiled at the way Marie's side and chest rumbled when he spoke, "You're very kind, Marie." Shortly after stating these words she dozed off.

After Marie was sure Miranda was asleep and he wouldn't accidentally wake her up he picked her up and carried her back to the infirmary. As he was going back to the guys' wing of the infirmary, which was down two more hallways, he couldn't help but think that sneaking out had been worth it. Even if he was going to get into trouble with the Head Nurse for leaving without permission.

* * *

A/N: Thanks a bunch for reading, please review~ And SO sorry for the long wait, I had to get chapter 4 written and I kinda had a bit of loss of inspiration for ALL of my stories the past few days. I'll be posting the next chapter of Happy Changes soon. Also, if you're looking for an AMAZING OC story, then you should check out Silver Rain, Crimson Snow by FarewellfromFaith. The author is a real sweetie, and she's done a lot for me so I thought I'd go ahead and recommend her.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 4

The library was quiet, and only a few candles, held or set near those in the room, lit the large room. Miranda and Marie, having snuck out of the infirmary again, were enjoying their temporary peace by sitting in the quiet library. Miranda read aloud, quietly, to Marie. Her back was leaned against his arm, her knees were positioned under her so her feet poked out from beneath her pointing to the left. She turned a page and continued her quiet reading.

No one else in the library seemed bothered by Miranda's aloud reading. There were only three or four other people in the library, and among them were Lavi and Bookman. A finder was sitting in another corner of the room, tucked comfortably into a corner between two shelves as he read.

Miranda turned to the next page and continued to read. After the first day they snuck out of the infirmary, Miranda and Marie had begun to sneak out more and more frequently. This was their third time to escape the infirmary that week. The other two times had been spent walking through the halls and talking. Miranda tried to stifle a yawn while reading, but couldn't keep herself from yawning widely. She wiped away the tears that had accumulated in her eyes from the yawn and continued reading.

"Do you want to go back to the infirmary?" Marie asked the next time Miranda paused to turn a page.

"Yes, that's probably wise. I'm beginning to dose off," Miranda laughed quietly as she marked their page in the book, "And the Head Nurse will probably notice we're gone soon."

"Do you want me to hold onto the book for you?" Marie offered.

"Yes, please. I don't want to lose one of the Order's books," Miranda nodded. She straightened her legs and took a second to let them wake up a little before she stood up. She gave the book to Marie once had had stood up from his seat on the floor, and then, once he had transferred the book to his other hand he took Miranda's hand.

"So, should we go get lunch tomorrow?" Miranda offered.

"We should probably wait a day or two before sneaking out again. The Head Nurse will probably notice if we leave too much," Marie pointed out, "Maybe the day after tomorrow."

"Alright," Miranda smiled. Soon they had reached the splitting halls that led, separately, to the two different wings of the infirmary, "I'll see you later, Marie. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Miranda. I'll see you the day after tomorrow?" Marie offered the idea.

"Yes, how about we head towards the cafeteria at half past noon," Miranda nodded.

"Okay," Marie nodded. He turned and walked down the hall.

When Miranda reached the door to the wing of the infirmary where girls were staying she opened the door carefully. She was trying not to make too much noise as she closed the door behind her and crept across the room, which was unsurprisingly dark, to her bed.

Lenalee stirred slightly in her own bed, across the room from Miranda's.

"Miranda?" Lenalee questioned, "Where were you?"

"I was in the library," Miranda answered.

"Oh, if you're going to leave you should really tell the Head Nurse," Lenalee said, "She might get worried if she comes in and no one knows where you are."

"Well," Miranda began, "I don't really think that she would let me leave, if I asked. She isn't really as lenient with most of us as she is with you."

"I guess you're right, but you really should sneak out," Lenalee shrugged as she rolled over to go back to sleep.

Once Miranda had lay down it didn't take more than ten minutes for her to fall asleep.

* * *

Marie did his best not to draw the attention of the other exorcists in that wing of the infirmary. He and Miranda had agreed to sneak out for lunch, and he didn't want to have to come up with any cover stories for why he was leaving. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice as he left.

Halfway to the cafeteria he heard a familiar voice, "Marie, please slow down." Miranda scrambled to catch up to him down the hallway, "S-Sorry, I just thought it would be nice to walk to the cafeteria together."

"Of course it would be," Marie smiled.

"Maybe, after lunch, we can go to the library again," Miranda offered with a small smile, "It was nice when we went the other day."

"That sounds good," Marie nodded. Miranda had sounded like she was smiling, Marie wished he could see her smile. He wondered if her smile was as nice as it made her voice sound.

Soon they had reached the cafeteria. After they had gotten their food and sat down they fell into a comfortable silence as they ate.

Miranda giggled softly, suddenly.

"What?" Marie asked.

"It's just, I think is the most normal my life has been since my clock began resetting the time in my home town," Miranda continued to laugh softly, "It was just funny to think about, I guess. This does seem normal, right?"

"It is a rather normal thing, getting lunch with a friend," Marie nodded and smiled.

"It's nice. I never really had anyone to spend time with before I came here. I like spending time with you," Miranda smiled too.

"Before I joined the Order I was always around other people. It actually got very tiring, after awhile, going somewhere every other day and staying out late. After I joined the Order I had to cut my connections with all of my friends and acquaintances, though," Marie said, "But I tried to avoid getting very close to any of the other exorcists or finders. It's nice to have someone be around, again."

"Didn't you spend time with Kanda and Daisya and Teidoll after you three became Teidoll's students?" Miranda asked.

"Yes, but before you were brought to the Order I had been seeing less and less of them. For a year, about, I hadn't talked to Daisya or Teidoll," Marie answered.

"Is living at the Order lonely, usually?" Miranda asked thoughtfully.

"Sometimes. Sometimes you'll have friends, and others you won't. Sometimes you'll go months without having a regular conversation with someone, and sometimes you'll have one everyday for months," Marie explained, "It really just depends on the situation, but it seems like you've had good company since you arrived."

"Really? It can be that different?" Miranda asked.

"Yes," Marie nodded.

The rest of their meal was spent in another comfortable silence, and after they had finished their food they put their dishes on the dirty dishes table and went to the library.

"What do you want me to read?" Miranda asked as she looked at one of the shelves full of books.

"Are there any books you want to read?" Marie asked.

"A few, yes," Miranda nodded.

"Choose one of those," Marie suggested.

"Are you sure? Because if there's anything you want me to read to you I wouldn't mind," Miranda said.

"I know, Miranda. But pick a book you want to read," Marie said.

"Okay," Miranda looked at the books on the shelf again before she picked one. Soon her and Marie were sitting as they had been a few days before when they were in the library. Miranda leaned with her back against Marie's arm with her legs tucked under her.

Miranda read in a slightly louder voice than the last time, seeing as they were the only two people in the library, and she wouldn't be bothering anyone else.

And, before either knew it, two hours had passed.

The door to the library banged open, loudly squealing on its hinges.

"There you two are!" it was one of the nurses who worked under the Head Nurse, "We've been looking all over for you! Come on, both of you."

Miranda, at that moment, seemed as if she wished she could be anywhere but there. She followed quietly behind Marie as he followed the nurse back to the infirmary.

"You two have caused us so much trouble!" the nurse scolded, "You should have asked to leave, instead of making us look for the both of you!"

* * *

Neither Miranda nor Marie got off without a long, long lecture, but by the end of that day the Head Nurse decided they were both well enough to return to their own rooms.

Marie was more that a little happy to have some peace and quiet that night, as opposed to the endless bickering and noise from the infirmary wing. The endless headache that had plagued him since he had been forced to share a room with Allen, Kanda, and the others had finally left, leaving him to sleep peacefully that night. The next day, like the many days before it after the fight in the Ark, was uneventful. He went to the library with Miranda, they ate lunch, he went and talked to Kanda.

As Marie was going back to his room he heard someone running down the hallway quite a ways behind him.

"S-Sorry," Miranda apologized as she caught up to him, "I just wanted to say hi."

"You shouldn't apologize for nothing," Marie chuckled, "Well, hello to you too. How have you been doing since lunch?"

"I've been doing good," Miranda smiled, "How has your afternoon been?"

"It's been very good. I went and talked to Kanda, it was nice to talk to him even though all he did was complain about still being stuck in the infirmary," Marie answered.

"The Head Nurse is really cautious, isn't she?" Miranda laughed slightly, "Most of the others' injuries have already healed, but she still won't let them leave."

"It is her responsibility to make sure we're all healthy, I can't really blame her. Most of the other exorcists are so young that they really do need to be more cautious about their health," Marie pointed out.

"I guess you're right. It's really hard to think about how most of the others really are so young. They never act like it," Miranda's voice grew slightly sad at the end of this statement.

Marie frowned slightly at the change of tone in Miranda's voice, but then he got an idea, "Miranda, come with me."

"Where?" Miranda asked as she followed him.

"Once, before my eyes were injured, I found an old garden just outside of the Order. It was never really kept well, but most of the plants were allowed to grow wherever they pleased. I think, it it's still anywhere near the same, you'll like it," Marie smiled.

"Oh, really?" Miranda was surprised by the sudden topic change, but she wasn't going to argue. She even reached out and lightly held Marie's hand. It didn't take long before they had left the Order's building all together.

The path that Marie led her down was overgrown, and it looked like no one had gone that way for a very long time. Miranda had to watch her step to avoid tripping over tree roots that were growing out and over the path, but soon the trees thinned slightly and she could see a cracked, stone fountain. Around the fountain was a marble bed, meant for the water of the fountain to run over into. Different flower plants, vines, and weeds grew wildly, unkept and were left to grow wherever they wanted. There was a marble bench, in the middle of the garden. Rose bushes scaled trellises that were arranged around the garden. Miranda couldn't help but quietly gasp at the sight of the garden. Light filtered between the twining branched above and dappled the ground, giving the entire garden an otherworldly feeling, "This place is beautiful, Marie."

"I'm glad it still is," Marie smiled. Though he couldn't see it he could still imagine how it had been the time before when he had seen it.

"It's so peaceful here," Miranda whispered, as if speaking at a normal volume would disrupt the tranquillity.

A bird hopped between branches overhead, causing the leaves to rustle.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here, Marie," Miranda smiled. There were happy tears in her eyes as she lightly hugged Marie. It was an awkward hug, Miranda's arms couldn't even wrap all the way around Marie's chest.

Marie simply smiled in response and returned the hug.

"Maybe sometime we can come here and I can read to you," Miranda offered.

"That would be nice," Marie agreed.

* * *

A/N: Aw, look at that fluff! Thanks so much for reading y'all. Please review~


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man

* * *

Chapter 5

Miranda trailed off in the middle of reading a sentence of a book aloud. A bright red cardinal was fluttering between the branches above her and Marie, and she couldn't help but be distracted by the pretty bird.

"Is everything okay, Miranda?" Marie asked; he couldn't help but worry about her sometimes.

"Yes, sorry. I just got a little distracted by a bird," Miranda chuckled as she resumed reading. It was early evening and they were sitting in the old little garden. A slight wind occasionally rustled the trees around them and provided a slight chill. Miranda occasionally paused in her reading to look up when she heard something move in the trees or plants. She loved to watch the birds hop between branches, and there had even been a few squirrels scavenging around in the bushes for food. And then, before Marie could worry about the silence, she would begin reading again. This pleasant moment was only interrupted when Miranda's stomach growled quietly, but loudly enough for Marie to hear.

"Are you hungry?" Marie asked. He was smiling.

"Yes, a little," Miranda nodded.

"Why don't we go back and eat. It's getting cold out here anyway," Marie smiled, "It would be bad if you caught a cold."

Miranda blushed slightly. It always flustered her when Marie worried about her like that, or went out of his way to help her, "It would be bad if you caught a cold, too. We probably should go back."

Their walk back to the Order's tower was pleasantly quiet. The silence was only interrupted occasionally by Miranda's quiet, off-key humming.

"I bet your singing voice is very beautiful," Marie smiled.

Miranda blushed again, only this time her cheeks were bright red, "T-Thank you. I-It really isn't though."

"You should think better of yourself, you're an amazing person," Marie stated, as if he were pointing out the obvious. He was smiling kindly at her.

Miranda could simply stutter and stammer incoherently until they had reached the cafeteria. They ordered their food and sat down at one of the empty tables. The cafeteria wasn't as empty; more finders had been recruited and many of the injured exorcists had been released from the infirmary. The room still wasn't as bustling and crowded as it had been before the ark, but it wasn't as depressing to be in anymore.

"Marie, about what you said earlier, please don't think I'm amazing. I don't think I can live up to your expectations. I'm too clumsy, and apologetic, and..." Miranda trailed off, unsure of how to put the rest of her negative qualities into words, "I'm too much of a burden."

Marie hugged her, "Miranda, you _are_ amazing. You're kind and compassionate. You are never a burden, you are always so eager to help people. Yes, you could do to apologize a little less, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. I won't argue that you're a bit clumsy, sometimes, but it's not something you can help." Marie rarely showed affection physically, he almost never hugged people except for the few occasions he had tried to cheer Miranda up or the times he was welcoming a friend home. These rare signs of affection showed how much he truly cared for Miranda, and she could sense that.

"Thank you," Miranda smiled slightly and returned the hug. She was never sure how to accept compliments, and so today she would simply say thank you and show Marie she appreciated it.

From somewhere across the room a finder "aww"ed before calling, "Look at the love birds."

This left Miranda red in the face and practically wishing she could disappear from the room as she returned to eating her dinner.

Marie suffered a similar reaction, and was almost happy when he had finished his food. However, he decided to wait for Miranda to finish so he could walk her to her room.

Miranda, seeing that Marie was waiting for her to finish, hurriedly ate the rest of her food.

"I'm so, so sorry that that happened," Miranda apologized. If she hadn't been so mopey Marie wouldn't have hugged her and neither of them would have been embarrassed like that.

"It wasn't your fault, Miranda," Marie assured.

Miranda decided not to push the topic, and the rest of the walk to her room was silent.

"Goodnight, Marie," Miranda smiled when they reached her door, "Thank you very much for spending time with me today."

"I was glad to. Sleep well, I hope to see you tomorrow," Marie said.

* * *

Miranda and Marie were eating lunch together, as usual.

Marie had been laughing lightly at something Miranda had said when both of their golems received incoming emergency alerts.

"_All able bodied exorcists are to report to the science department. Akuma have infiltrated the building, help is requested. Noise Marie, Miranda Lotto, and all Generals are needed,_" the message was repeated several times.

The entire cafeteria went silent at the sound of the alerts as Miranda and Marie quickly hurried to the science department. When they arrived Lavi waved them over to a side entrance, the main entrance was completely blocked.

"Miranda, we need ya ta reverse the time around the akuma egg. It's been pulled inta the ark," Lavi instructed, "Do ya need ta get closer?"

"Yes, I don't think I can control it from here," Miranda nodded.

With little to no warning Marie Picked Miranda up and placed her on his shoulder before activating Noel Organon and using the strings to keep them a safe distance from the ground and fighting.

Miranda yelped in surprise when her feet were lifted off of the ground but she quickly gained her balance once Marie had set her down. It was good she had gained her balance too, because they were soon swinging quickly past the fighting until she was in close enough range to reverse the time around the ark gate and the akuma egg. Once the akuma egg was above the ark gate so that the platform around it was clear of the gate Marie let Noel Organon set them down on the platform, he knelt down so that Miranda could easily climb off his shoulder, and then they stood there to wait the fighting out.

After all of the akuma were destroyed Marie contacted the command center to report. Marie explained the situation, and passed along the commands and information that the others shouted in turn.

"_Guard Miranda, make sure she can keep Time Record activated,_" Komui commanded.

"I will keep her safe," Marie assured. The conversation was turned to Cross's headset.

Marie looked up, startled; there was water moving all around them. He realized what was happening a moment too late as Miranda made a small, startled sound that was cut off by the gurgling of water rushing into her mouth. Marie lunged forward to catch her before she could be swept up by the water, he didn't know what was controlling it, but he missed and only managed to disturb a small portion of the water. He reactivated Noel Organon and sent out the strings to try and bind the water around Miranda.

"Noel Organon can't bind it," Marie was more than a little frustrated that he was helpless to help Miranda. He could hear Cross explaining something about the Noah of Form, but he heard the Noah's demand louder than the explanation. He knew Miranda would never deactivate her innocence if it meant that the enemy would benefit, even if it cost her her life to keep it activated.

Miranda desperately struggled as her lungs burned. She couldn't breathe and she was running out of air. If she didn't get any air soon she was going to pass out and Time Record was going to deactivate whether she wanted it to or not.

Whether he liked it or not, Marie had to devote his attention to keeping the akuma egg from being stolen instead of trying to free Miranda. He directed Noel Organon at the egg, but not even his innocence was strong enough to stop the egg's downward descent into the ark gate.

"Destroying the egg takes priority. She's an exorcist, she should be ready to lay down her life," General Socalo said.

"Yes, destroying the egg takes priority," General Cross agreed.

Marie couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't want to believe it, "Stop!"

The Generals prepared their attacks, and Marie only grew angrier as he could tell the Noah was using Miranda as a direct shield for the egg. Marie would have done anything at that moment to save Miranda. He would have even, if possible, switched places with her. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her. He couldn't lose her, the thought repeated in his head again and again.

Marie could only pick up white noise around the egg, after it had entered the ark, but a moment later he could hear Miranda's familiar pulse, if a bit sluggish. He also heard Allen mutter, under his breathe, the word "despicable". Allen, carrying Miranda, walked over to where Marie, Bookman, and the Generals were.

Marie took Miranda from him, and was more than relieved to hear that she was breathing properly. Miranda's head lolled against Marie's chest as he shifted the way he was holding her. He was silently thanking whatever God existed in the world, he had long since stopped believing in any type of God or deity figures, that Miranda was alive when he heard an all too familiar sound. The sound of an akuma, but this sound was different. It was mixed with a childish laugh that sent chills down Marie's spine.

Sounds of fighting echoed around, and Marie couldn't exactly tell what was going. After about five minutes of this, there was a sudden sound that made his ears ring. The sound pressed in on his hears, and he had to take off his headphones in a desperate attempt to muffle the shriek. His eardrums felt like they were going to bust and he wanted to scream in pain from the horrible sound. The sound continued to ring in his ears, he couldn't tell if it had stopped or not, but he was aware of the ground around him falling away. After that he fell unconscious.

* * *

Miranda's eyes shot open as she groggily registered that there was still fighting going on around her. She opened her eyes, and saw that she, along with many of the members of the science division and a few other exorcists, were a few floors from where she remembered being before she passed out. She looked up and saw a rather large chunk of concrete hanging unstably from a steel cable. This was a good time to activate Time Record, she decided. Her body and mind were already drained from her previous ordeal, but she somehow managed to keep herself awake enough to keep Time Record activated.

Reever had woken up, and after asking is she was okay and receiving a half-coherent answer, he called Komui to see what was going on in the rest of the Head Quarters.

Miranda was hardly aware of anything after that. She was aware of everyone moving just a bit closer to her so that she didn't have to use up as much power to keep Time Record activated over a larger area.

She wasn't truly aware of anything until she felt a warm hand envelope one of her hands and heard a gentle voice saying, "Miranda, you can release it now. You've done great. It's okay, we'll all be fine." She could feel another warm hand against her side, opposite of that hand.

"The fire has gone, Miranda. You can deactivate Time Record now," Marie coaxed, but Miranda could hardly register she was being spoken to.

Finally Miranda deactivated Time Record and she slumped in exhaustion again Marie's chest.

"You did well, Miranda. Rest now," Marie assured.

* * *

A/N: I'm just gonna leave it off there. Thanks a bunch for reading, please review~


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man

* * *

Chapter 6

Marie and Miranda were left untended until the seriously injured people were being treated. The entire time, Marie worried continuously about Miranda. What if she had pushed herself too hard? What if she had been injured by Lulubell? There were too many 'what ifs' for him to keep track of. It had been nearly six hours since the people who had been trapped in the remains of lab five had been rescued, and Marie and Miranda were among the last people waiting in the small, makeshift waiting room just outside of the main wing of the infirmary.

Marie had finally dozed off when he was awoken by the door to the infirmary opening.

"If any of you have injuries, please come let us treat you. After we have a bit more room, we'll check up on those of you who aren't definitely injured," the nurse requested.

Marie's injuries, he knew, weren't bad; and as he wasn't sure if Miranda was injured he simply let himself fall asleep again. The following time he was woken up was by Miranda, who had been placed against his side until she herself woke, and tried to carefully change the way she was sitting to allow blood to flow to her leg, which had been under her.

"Miranda?" Marie hadn't expected her to wake up any time soon.

"Sorry, I woke you up," Miranda apologized quietly.

"How long have you been awake?" Marie questioned.

"Not very long," Miranda answered.

"Are you feeling alright?" Marie asked.

"Yes, I'm feeling fine. I'm still very tired, but I don't think I'm injured," Miranda assured with a tired smile, "What about you? Are you injured?"

"Nothing serious," Marie assured, "I was mostly worried about you."

"Marie, what happened after I passed out?" Miranda asked. Her memories of the entire event, from just before her capture to the brief moments of consciousness she had had, were blurry and unclear.

"Allen got you away from Lulubell and we destroyed the akuma egg. After that, an akuma evolved to a level four and destroyed most of Headquarters. The fifth laboratory was destroyed, and I don't remember much after that myself. You used Time Record to help protect the other survivors from the fires in the lab," Marie explained.

"I'm sorry I let myself get captured, Marie," Miranda apologized as she leaned against his side, "I must have caused everyone so much trouble. I must have worried you so much."

"It's fine, Miranda. Sometimes things like that happen, and the only thing that matters is that you are okay," Marie assured with a smile.

Miranda fell silent, "How many casualties were there?"

"Quiet a few, I'm afraid. It was mostly members of the science division, but we lost many finders as well," Marie answered. He could hear the slight shift in Miranda's breathing, and the quiet sniffling as she began cry. He remembered how hard it had been to be empathetic to those close to people who had died in a way related to the Order. Whether the person were to become an akuma or be killed by an akuma, whether they were an accommodator, an exorcist, a finder, or a normal person who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, or just an unfortunate supporter of the Order. Being at the Order for so long had destroyed the feeling of empathy, which left him to grieve only for those he knew closely when they were lost.

It wasn't long before Miranda had fallen asleep again with her head resting against Marie's side. It was no surprise how quickly she had fallen asleep; she was probably still exhausted from the fight.

* * *

It had been nearly a week since the attack. Miranda walked slowly down one of the painfully empty hallways of the Order. She wasn't really supposed to be putting much weight on her ankle, which had been sprained badly at some point during the battle, but had gone unnoticed until she had stood up for the first time after the battle, about an hour after the second time she woke up. Miranda wasn't going anywhere in particular, she just couldn't stand being in the infirmary anymore. She couldn't stand the sight of many of the finders and science division members who had initially survived the attacked being wheeled from the infirmary, to the incinerator. So many of the initial survivors were dying and Miranda couldn't stand being around it all anymore.

Two or three exorcists had been allowed to return to their rooms, if their rooms were still in one piece, and Marie was among them. He had gone and visited Miranda regularly, but that when he was on his way to the infirmary to see how she was doing he heard her familiar heartbeat just around the corner.

"Hello, Marie," Miranda greeted as she saw him. She sounded tired, and her voice was strained slightly as if she were in pain.

"You shouldn't be walking around, Miranda. It will make your ankle worse," Marie advised.

"I know, I just couldn't stand to be in the infirmary anymore. I promise I was looking for somewhere to sit down," Miranda shifted her weight slightly so that most of her weight was leaned against her good ankle. Her injured ankle was beginning to ache terribly, "I just haven't been able to find anywhere that's still intact."

"Do you want me to carry you to the cafeteria? It's still mostly in one piece," Marie offered.

"No, I'm fine. I think I can make it there on my own," Miranda assured, though she doubted she would be able to walk half that far.

Marie frowned slightly at her, "I can tell you're lying, your heart rate changed. I wouldn't offer to help you if I didn't mind helping you, Miranda."

"I don't want to be troublesome," Miranda assured.

Marie gave up trying to help her at that point. He should be used to this, every time in the past he had offered her some variety of help, whether it be offering a hand when she fell down the stairs, or offering to carry things for her, she always responded that way. Now he decided to just walk beside her down the hall. He could hear how she would quietly hiss in pain with every few steps.

Miranda leaned against the wall so she could take some weight off of her foot for a moment, and she assumed that Marie had heard her stopping because he stopped walking too.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Marie asked.

"Would it be too much trouble if I leaned against you while I walked?" Miranda asked.

"Of course not," Marie assured.

Miranda limped over and leaned against him so she could walk without putting her full weight on her foot. After nearly twenty minutes of walking like this they reached the cafeteria. Miranda gladly sat down and propped her injured foot up in the chair across the table from her. The cafeteria was very quiet, and one wall of it had been blown away during the battle, leaving a few tables buried in ruble.

"Do you want me to order you anything?" Marie asked.

"No, I'm not hungry," Miranda said.

Marie went to order his own food. When he returned he noticed Miranda was unusually quiet, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Miranda assured, faking a smile in case any of the other people in the cafeteria happened to look over at them talking. She just couldn't stand to let anyone know how upset she was.

"You've been quiet, you're not eating, and you were wandering the halls even though your ankle is hurt. What's wrong?" Marie demanded.

"It's just..." Miranda trailed off, unsure of how to put her problem into words without sounding weak or pathetic, "I couldn't be around the infirmary. Marie, I don't want to watch anyone else die."

Marie didn't know how to respond. He himself could remember the feeling of helplessness when he had first joined the Order and seen so many finders die. He remembered how hard it had been to get over it and accept the fact that things would continue to be like that until well after he himself was dead, but he knew there were no words or actions that could comfort someone from that feeling, "Don't force yourself to stay in there, Miranda. Sometimes, it's just best to ignore times like these and pretend nothing bad is happening."

"My room was destroyed, I'd have to sleep in here or in the library, otherwise, and that would cause so much trouble for other people. The library is already overcrowded and if I slept in here I would probably be in people's way."

"There's an empty room, beside my room. You're welcome to stay there; no one has lived there for a few years," Marie offered.

"Thank you," Miranda smiled slightly. Her smile was still fake a strained, but a little less so than before.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! Thanks a bunch for reading, please review~ And I would also like to thank my amazing beta reader endlessnotebooks. If you watch Blue Exorcist definitely go read her story Against Gehenna.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man

A/N: In a recent reread of the Level 4 arc, I realize I have made a small mistake in the timing of events, but as I have previously stated I don't much care to rewrite an entire chapter to fix it, so I'm not going to bother. In case you were wondering the error was that, in the Level 4 arc, only about a day passes between the attack and the clean up that leads into the Zombie arc. Sorry for this little mix up.

* * *

Chapter 7

Marie didn't particularly mind spending time with General Teidoll and the General's other students, but he felt more than a little guilty for having to cancel lunch with Miranda last minute. Despite his regrets on the whole situation, here he was, stuck spending at least an hour in the library- one of the few intact rooms in the Order- with General Teidoll, Kanda, and Chaoiji.

"You seem annoyed about something. You're being almost as quiet as Kanda," Chaoiji curiously said to Marie.

"I'm not necessarily annoyed, I just feel bad about having to cancel plans," Marie answered.

"Che, what, were you and Miranda gonna go on a date?" Kanda asked.

"No," Marie answered. He didn't want this to turn into a topic of conversation, because he knew that General Teidoll would question him mercilessly about it.

"Does Maa-kun have a girlfriend?" Teidoll teased.

"You _are_ spending a lot of time with Miss Lotto," Chaoiji pointed out.

"It's because we are friends," Marie sighed in exasperation. He wasn't going to admit that recently he had begun to develop feelings for the clumsy woman, "She doesn't really know anyone else in the Order."

"Are you sure you don't have a thing for her?" Teidoll continued to speak in a childishly teasing voice.

Marie's face burned bright pink at the continued questioning, "Can we not talk about this?"

"Marie _does_ love her," Kanda said. He sounded surprised, but Marie's behavior definitely showed this fact.

"So, Chaoiji, how was life been at the Order, aside from the akuma attack?" Marie asked, trying to change the subject.

Teidoll chuckled at Marie's attempt to change the subject, but let it slide. He would have to talk to Marie later, because he was truly curious about what Marie thought of Miranda.

"It's been really great here," Chaoiji answered enthusiastically, "I wasn't able to help anyone during the akuma attack, though, so that made me feel really worthless again."

"That's not a sign that you're useless, it just means you need to work harder from now on," Teidoll assured.

The group of four spent nearly an hour talking. When they ran out of topics for conversation and a long silence had settled over them they had all gone their separate ways for the day. Marie decided, since he had had to suddenly cancel his lunch plans with Miranda, to ask if she would like to go to the city for dinner that evening.

* * *

"Miranda? You're eating along today?" Lenalee asked. Her voice was surprised; Miranda had eaten with Marie almost every day in recent weeks.

"Yes, Marie was spending time with General Teidoll and Kanda," Miranda nodded. She knew that Marie had mentioned one more name, but she couldn't remember.

"Oh, that makes sense, actually. General Teidoll likes to spend time with his students when they're all at Headquarters. Kanda used to get really annoyed about it when he was younger," Lenalee had already moved over a chair so Miranda wouldn't have to try to weave between the chairs of the two parallel tables to reach a seat. Clearly, Lenalee didn't want Miranda to trip. Miranda couldn't help feeling rather agitated by the small, friendly gesture. She could understand Lenalee's concern, but she couldn't help wanting people to have at least a little faith in her.

"Really?" Miranda asked. She herself hadn't been assigned to a General upon arriving to the Order because of the condition of the Order when she had finally reached Headquarters.

"Yeah. I think Teidoll just wants his students to feel like they've got some sort of parent figure. I don't really know much about Marie's life before he joined the Order. And from small things Kanda's told me I know his parents were either awful people, or never there for him. And Anita raised Chaoiji. General Teidoll feels like, because they've been forced into this war, he needs to make sure they all understand that he wants to hear their opinions and help with their problems," Lenalee explained. She had never tried to pry at Kanda about his past, knowing that he deserved the respect he gave her about her own life before the Order.

"I haven't met Teidoll, except for once for a very short time when I was traveling to Headquarters for the first time. But from the short time I talked to him, I think you're right about him wanting his students to feel like they have someone to talk to," Miranda agreed.

"I guess he's the type of person who you can tell a lot about their personality just from a short meeting. So, how have you been doing recently, Miranda?" Lenalee asked.

"I've been good," Miranda smiled. In truth she still felt guilty about not having been able to protect everyone during the level four's attack, but she preffered to keep that emotion to herself, "How have you been?"

"Actually, really good. Ever since my innocence evolved it feels like my feet are so light," Lenalee smiled, as if to prove her point she kicked her legs back and forth like a small child.

"That's really good to hear, Lenalee," Miranda smiled, "And, if you don't mind me asking, is your innocence a parasitic type now?"

"No, not exactly. But it's not really equipment type anymore, either. Komui decided, for the time being, we'll be calling it crystal type innocence. Though, if I activate it, it puts a similar strain on my body as parasitic type would," Lenalee answered, "It's amazing that parasitic type accommodators can stand living under that strain all of their lives."

"Innocence is amazing, don't you think?" Miranda was trying to turn the subject away from Lenalee's comment about parasitic types. She had never much liked to think about the fact that, after their innocence had activated, parasitic accommodators' lives were shortened considerably.

"It is," Lenalee agreed, "The way it can adapt to save its accommodator is a really nice part about it."

"Yes, that is a very good thing that it does," Miranda agreed. She would always be grateful to her clock, for the way it had changed her life. She knew it was a change for the better, whether she thought that because she had finally found a use for her life or because she had finally met so many people who cared about her she didn't know, "My clock proved that sometimes it even hears its accommodators wishes."

"Yes, it does show that," Lenalee agreed, "I still can't believe that your clock activated that way, just from you saying you wished the next day would never come."

"Yes, I suppose it is rather unusual," Miranda said. She had long since finished her food, as had Lenalee, and with the topic of conversation dying Miranda decided to return to her room, "It's been nice to talk to you, Lenalee. Thank you for letting me sit here."

"Of course. Whenever you need someone to sit with just come sit at this table, I'm sure someone will sit by you and maybe you could make some new friends," Lenalee waved with a happy smile.

* * *

Marie knocked lightly on Miranda's door. The response was an immediate, "One second!" and the sound of footsteps across the room before the door was pulled open.

"Marie? Hello," Miranda greeted; her voice held a questioning tone as if asking what he needed.

"Hello, Miranda. How has your afternoon been?" Marie asked.

"It was quiet nice," Miranda smiled brightly.

"That's good to hear. I'm so sorry I had to cancel lunch today," Marie apologized.

"No, don't worry about it! I got to eat lunch with Lenalee, it was nice to talk to her again," Miranda assured.

"Still, I feel bad for canceling so suddenly, so would you like to go to dinner with me? We can go to the city, I know a nice restaurant there," Marie offered.

"R-Really? You don't have to, but, that would be nice," Miranda was more than uncertain how to respond to the unexpected offer. She had never imaged someone would want to bother taking her to a restaurant. Her klutzy tendencies had always caused her few friends of the past to "forget" to invite her out to lunch whenever they had gone somewhere.

"Then we can leave, whenever you are ready," Marie smiled.

"Alright, give me a few minutes to change," Miranda said before closing the door to her room. She had been wearing clothes that she liked to consider like pajamas; though they were hardly appropriate for a woman to wear, she had grown fond of wearing men's style clothing. In consideration of her clumsiness Johnny had designed her uniform with pants as opposed to a skirt, and while she had originally found the idea of a woman wearing pants scandalous she had soon discovered that she was tripping just a bit less. She hardly left the Order, unless she was wearing her uniform, in such clothing. She didn't keep many outfits aside from her uniforms and her sleeping clothes but she did have one outfit from when she had first arrived at the Order. After changing clothes she walked back to the door and opened it to walk out into the hallway. "I'm ready to go."

"Shall we go then?" Marie asked.

"Yes," Miranda nodded and walked down the hallway beside him, "How was your time with General Teidoll and his other students today?"

"It could have been better, honestly. The General was mostly trying to get to know Chaoiji more, so it was rather boring," Marie answered. He had to admit, he wasn't very fond of Chaoiji from the conversations he had had with the new exorcist.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Miranda said.

"Don't worry, it didn't used to be too much better. Daisya and Kanda would always get into fights and most of our time together was spent with the General and I trying to keep fights from getting too bad," Marie shrugged.

"That sounds like it wouldn't have been much fun either," Miranda said, "Though, having seen Kanda and Allen getting fights I can imagine that."

Marie realized that that was one of the first times that Miranda had said anything about seeing around him without apologizing repeatedly. She must have been getting used to being around him. "Yes, and thankfully Daisya knew better than to use Charity Bell inside. We might have had to fix a lot of walls, otherwise."

"That does seem like a good thing," Miranda agreed. She hadn't ever met Daisya, but she knew many stories about him from Marie, "Did any fights start today?"

"No, Kanda was in a better mood today than usual, and Chaoiji is hardly confrontational towards us," Marie answered.

"That's good, at least," Miranda smiled.

"It was," Marie agreed. He could always tell when Miranda was smiling, based upon the tone of her voice, and he had heard that tone in her voice the entire conversation. He sometimes found it hard to believe that she could be so awkward and nervous sometimes, when she acted like this.

* * *

The streets of the town were rather crowded. Marie was listening to Miranda's specific footsteps just beside him to make sure she didn't get lost in the bustling area.

Miranda was careful not to get sidetracked or stumble so that she could easily stay close to Marie. She was glad when they had finally reached an area that seemed to be the end of the largest area of the crowd.

"Good thing this restaurant is closer to the edge of town, otherwise it might get far too busy," Marie tried to start a conversation.

"Yes, that is nice. Hopefully the crowd will have reduced a bit when we're going back," Miranda agreed. The crowd had her nerves on edge, so speaking in the happy tone she usually used around Marie was difficult for her at the moment.

"Are you alright?" Marie could hear the unease in Miranda's voice.

"Yes, sorry. I just don't do very well in crowds," Miranda assured, "I'm fine, don't worry."

_I should have taken the long way, _Marie though. He knew that route was typically less crowded, and now that he thought about it he knew that she had always been particularly tense in crowded areas, "On the way back we can take the long way, it goes outside of the city and through the park, but it's always less crowded."

"That sounds like it would be a good idea," Miranda agreed with a slight nod. She felt bad for making Marie worry about her, but she was so used to isolating herself that being in crowded areas bothered her no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, "Thank you for bringing me out to dinner, Marie."

"It's the least I can do, after canceling lunch," Marie assured, "And it's nice to get out of Headquarters for awhile."

Miranda lightly hugged Marie's arm and laid her head against his shoulder before she spoke, "It is nice to get out for awhile. It's been so chaotic recently."

"Yes, I hear that the Science Department is already looking for a new building to use as the European Headquarters," Marie said, "I went to Komui's office yesterday to deliver a paper, and it sounded very chaotic in the rest of the department."

"Isn't it usually chaotic in there?" Miranda asked. She tended to avoid that part of the Order, because it seemed every time she was there she ruined something, but she had heard of the unfortunate happenings of that part of the Order.

"Yes, it usually is. Yesterday was worse than normal though," Marie explained. "And I doubt Komui was helping anyone by sleeping." The last statement was added with a small laugh.

Miranda laughed too, "From what I've heard he probably would have caused more trouble for them if he had been awake."

"You're right, he would have," Marie agreed. After a few more minutes of pointless conversation they reached the restaurant. Marie could always remember the specific sounds of this restaurant, as it had a small string trio that performed there around the evening rush time.

Miranda nearly tripped as Marie stopped walking, but she managed to regain her balance just before she toppled forward, "Is this it?"

"Yes, we're here," Marie answered with a nod.

It was a rather large restaurant, Miranda observed, and it wasn't extremely crowded. Another thing Miranda observed was that all of the waiters and the hostess of the restaurant shared similar features, which made Miranda think that it was a family owned place.

It wasn't long before her and Marie had been seated at a table near the back of the restaurant, the tables near the large front windows were all full leaving only tables lining the back wall and sides of the single roomed dinning area open.

The meal passed by with pleasant, random, cheerful conversation. The bill was put on the Order's tab, and within two hours of leaving the Headquarters Miranda and Marie were walking back. This time, however, they were taking a path through the lightly forested park that bordered that side of the town.

"Thank you for bringing me out to dinner, Marie," Miranda thanked as she walked beside him. It was just dark enough outside Miranda was beginning to have trouble seeing things on the ground that may trip her, so she was focusing more on looking at her surroundings than the path in front of her.

"You're very welcome. Did you have a good time?" Marie asked.

"Yes, I did. Did you?" Miranda asked.

Marie was about to answer but was cut off by a rather startled yelp from Miranda. The toe of her shoe had caught on a rock and sent her sprawling forward across the ground.

"Miranda? Are you okay?" Marie asked.

Miranda sat up slowly to make sure she hadn't hurt herself too badly before answering, "Yes, sorry. I tripped."

"I could tell, and you don't have to apologize," Marie said. He offered her a hand up, being able to figure her general location based on her voice, heart beat, and breathing.

Miranda gladly accepted that hand up. She was thankful she had come away from the trip with, as far as she could tell, a slightly fabric-burned hand. When she had tried to catch herself the fabric of her gloves was pushed across the palm of her hand and left a small, raw, sore patch near her wrist, "I almost made it a day without falling down."

Marie had to chuckle at her statement. He was glad she could show some good humor about her clumsiness, sometimes. He knew she often got very upset with herself about it so hearing her joking about it was a relief, "I'd say this counts as a day. It is nearly dark out, isn't it?" Marie didn't really know if it was dark or not, but he figured it was close to sunset.

"I guess I could count it," Miranda smiled.

"Are you alright to walk the rest of the way?" Marie asked. He didn't want her to keep tripping.

"Yes, I'll just have to be more careful," Miranda assured.

* * *

A/N: Thanks a bunch for reading, please review~


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 8

All of the exorcists had been called to Komui's office to discuss a new discovery about innocence. Obviously it was related to Lenalee's innocence, which had evolved during the attack by the Level Four akuma.

"As I'm sure you all have heard, Lenalee's innocence changed during the attack. We've been doing some research and studying it, and we've discovered that it isn't, as we previously thought, parasitic type. But this raises the question of what it is, because it isn't equipment type either," Komui began.

Reever continued, "This form of innocence isn't parasitic type because it doesn't alter the cellular structure of Lenalee's body to become a weapon, and from the research we've done it doesn't seem to put the same, life draining strain on her body as parasitic type innocence would. The blood that the innocence used has become a stone like structure, and the blood didn't return to its original form like it would have if it were parasitic. As we've seen with Allen's arm and Krory's teeth, their innocence returns to a functioning part of their body once the innocence deactivates, but that clearly hasn't happened here."

Socalo interrupted, "So you're saying they're monsters, right?"

"You really aren't one to talk, Winters," Klaud pointed out.

Miranda, thinking she might have seen a slight flinch from Allen at the comment about him being a monster, quietly said to Allen, "Don't listen to them, Allen. You're not a monster."

Allen simply smiled back reassuringly, as if to show her that he was alright with the term monster.

The conversation was lost to Miranda for awhile. She couldn't help but think about how hard life must have been for Allen before he joined the Order, or for any of the parasitic type accommodators for that manner. It made her feel sorry for the younger exorcist. This was constantly an emotion Miranda felt for the younger exorcists, like Lenalee, Kanda, Allen, and Lavi, and she always felt the motherly instinct to protect them. She hadn't been able to help it, especially after hearing about how Lenalee joined the Order.

When Miranda focused back in on the explanation it had come to:

"This is an evolution of equipment type. Innocence uses the accommodators blood to create a weapon."

"This gets rid of the need to manipulate the innocence into a weapon. It also concentrates the power, and according to our calculations the users blood is used to replenish the weapon whenever it is damaged," Reever explained.

Miranda and everyone else in the room aside from Reever, Komui, and Lenalee, couldn't help but shudder at the thought of their own blood becoming an anti-akuma weapon.

Komui seemed exasperated by the reactions, but continued his explanation anyways, "We're calling this crystallization type innocence."

"But couldn't it be something unique to Lenalee?" Reever questioned.

"No, we can't consider that for now," Komui denied.

Miranda noticed that Marie seemed troubled as this conversation went on, and the next time someone stopped speaking he spoke up, "I suppose I should say this, the raid... If it had happened right when we had returned from Edo, before the Generals could return, we wouldn't have stood a chance. I don't mean to sound afraid in saying this, but I think the Earl was trying to show us he can eliminate us whenever he wants."

After this the conversation died down quickly and everyone was dismissed.

"M-Marie, do you really think that the Noah could destroy us whenever they want?" Miranda asked timidly as they were walking down one of the many halls of the Order.

"Yes. They clearly had all of the resources to attack, and with how soon it was after they had to delete the White Ark, I think that they had already had everything they needed to stage an attack long before any of this. They could have easily attacked while the Generals were traveling here from Central had they wanted," Marie answered.

The reality of the severity of the situation Miranda had recently been thrown into seemed to hit her full force in that moment. The next day, or even later that day, or maybe in a week, maybe as far as a year, the Noah could and doubtlessly would attack again. She would have to watch her comrades die, and be nearly helpless to help them. She could die. Marie could die. She didn't realize she had stopped walking, and she hardly realized that for a moment she had begun to hold her breath.

"Miranda, are you okay?" Marie questioned when he heard her footsteps stopped.

"Yes, I'm fine," Miranda assured. It had taken her a moment to remember how to breathe, "I was just thinking about random, senseless things. Don't worry at all."

"If you're sure," Marie didn't sound convinced but he wasn't going to push the topic.

"If it's alright with you, I think I'm going to go back to my room for now. I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm rather tired," Miranda said. She honestly just needed awhile to let herself calm down after that world altering realization.

"Of course. Try to get some rest, then. Sleep well," Marie smiled.

"Thank you," Miranda waved, even though she knew Marie couldn't see it.

* * *

Miranda had decided at the beginning of the preparations to move to the Head Quarters that she would simply stay to the side and out of the way unless she was needed. She knew that some of the things the Science Department had created weren't safe, and she decided she didn't want to cause any incidents. She was unneeded, in fact, until Allen had spilled one of the many potions that Komui had created on himself. His hair, now nearly down to his hips, was getting in his face.

"Allen, do you want me to braid your hair?" Miranda offered. She had a spare hair tie with her, in case the ribbon holding her own hair in place caught on something or fell out, and was willing let Allen borrow it.

"Yes, thank you, Miranda," Allen nodded. He seemed rather sulky about being yet another of the exorcists to fall victim to one of Komui's potions. He had even fallen to it from his own carelessness.

"Of course," Miranda smiled as she sat on the ground behind the box he was sitting on. She began braiding his hair; she was secretly jealous of how soft his hair was.

"Really, Allen? You're the fifth one today," Reever sighed.

This caused Allen to sulk even more as he wondered how he could have been careless enough to fall asleep in the Science Department's storage room.

Miranda couldn't help but giggle a bit as she listened to the others talking. She glanced up at Kanda and Lavi, their childish forms far too small for the outfits they had previously been wearing, when she heard Lenalee's question:

"What are we going to do about their clothes?"

"They could borrow Bookman's clothes," Marie offered in response.

This response only caused Miranda's smile to brighten. She had felt rather optimistic most of that day, and she was fairly certain it was her mind's own way of trying to forget about her sudden thought from the day before.

"Come on, get back to work packing guys," Reever said.

Miranda, unable to finish braiding Allen's hair quickly enough, was forced to unbraid it and simply tie it back in a ponytail for him.

"Miranda, could you come help us move these boxes?" Marie asked. Chaoiji was helping him unstack a rather tall stack of boxes to be moved individually.

"Oh, yes! I-If you don't think I'll get in the way," Miranda answered. She had sounded enthusiastic with the first part of her response but as she rethought her own clumsiness her tone became a little timid.

Marie couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle a bit, "You won't get in the way. Just move this box over there, alright?"

"O-Okay," Miranda nodded and took the box. It was a rather light box, and Miranda miraculously moved it over to the pile of boxes beside where they planned to open an Ark door to the new Head Quarters.

"Here, can you take this?" Chaoiji asked as he handed her a box.

"Yes," Miranda nodded and took the box. As she was walking she suddenly felt the toe of her shoe catch on the ground. She tumbled forward, and before she could catch herself the box was out of her hands. It took Miranda a moment to recover from the sudden fall, but when she did she realized her mistake was far worse than simply dropping a box. One of Komui's odd potions had spilled onto both Bookman and Lenalee.

"I'm so sorry!" Miranda apologized.

"Meow?" Lenalee responded.

Miranda paled, "Oh, I'm such a klutz! How could I have been this careless? As retribution for what I have done, I shall become a cat too!" Miranda's voice was frantic.

"Miranda, I don't think that's necessary. You don't have to do that!" Marie's voice rose in volume at the end of his sentence as he could hear Miranda picking up the bottle.

Before Miranda could overturn the bottle of cat-voice potion over her head Allen plucked it from her hand, "I'll just go throw this away with the rest of the broken bottles."

"Hey, at least Lenalee's kinda cute that way, right?" Lavi tried to reassure. This did little to help Miranda's frantic apologies.

As the conversations of the others shifted away from Miranda Marie said, "Alright, calm down."

"B-But I shouldn't have trusted myself to carry that box, and-" Miranda was cut off when Marie said:

"Miranda, just breathe, calm down. It's not that bad, Komui will probably make an antidote in no time since it's affecting Lenalee. Can you just try to calm down for me?"

"I-I'll try. B-But I really should do something to apologize," Miranda said. She was stuttering from the embarrassment of the entire incident, and from her misdirected anger at herself. She often got ridiculously angry with herself when she did something like that, but she never really seemed to show it and people often mistook the emotion for nervousness or embarrassment.

"Don't worry, just apologize to them later, once we've finished moving everything. I'm sure neither of them are mad at you in the slightest," Marie assured with a smile.

Miranda took a deep breath, "You're right. And I promise I'll try to be more careful from now on."

Suddenly all of the lights in the room went out with a loud click.

"What's going on?" "Is this a black out?" "Probably another one of Komui's weird inventions going haywire." All of these were the immediate responses.

"Miranda, did the lights go out?" Marie asked curiously.

"Yes, they did. Do you have any idea what could have happened?" Miranda asked.

Before Marie could respond a childish giggle echoed through the room.

This immediately caused everyone in the room to tense, and despite the fact that it was too dark to see everyone began looking around the room.

"Do you think it's a g-ghost?" Miranda asked with wide eyes.

"Of course not, it's just Komui trying to scare us," Reever denied.

"This is odd, I can't seem to find the source of the voice," Marie mused aloud as he listened to the echoing giggle.

"It's definitely Komui!" "Come on, Chief, we need to get to work!" "Turn the lights back on, Komui." "This isn't funny." The immediate response was a fearful one at the unexplained event.

Marie, trying to focus on one sound that had caught his attention, loudly shushed everyone. Once they had fallen silent he focused on the sound. He couldn't place it, but he could tell that it was coming closer to the door. The door that was currently partially open.

"Oh, it's just the nurse!" Allen assured a moment later, relieving some of the stress in the room.

"You could see her? I'm surprised you can see so well in the dark," Johnny sounded more than a little impressed.

"It's because of my training with Cross," Allen's smile was far from enthusiastic. Allen was caught by surprise when his arm was bitten, "What?"

"Is the Head Nurse mad?" Lavi questioned.

"She probably wouldn't bite someone if she was," Reever pointed out.

"Did you not get released from the infirmary, moyashi?" Kanda asked.

Allen, still rather shocked from this entire ordeal, said, "I did, I don't think that's the problem."

"Yeah, but Allen, she usually doesn't do this," someone said.

"What did you do?" Reever accused.

"Not you too," Allen's voice was pathetic.

Miranda, being the ever bright person that she was, approached the nurse, "You sound awful, do you have a cold?" She hadn't expected to be bitten herself, and it startled her horribly. Luckily as Miranda stumbled back from the sudden fright Marie managed to grab her shoulders before she could keep moving back and trip over something.

This whole situation caused a great deal of commotion, and all of the sounds were definitely disorienting for Marie. He wished that everyone would be quiet so he could have a few moments to try to figure out what was going on; he knew his chances of this were fairly slim. So he settled for asking Miranda, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, just a bit startled..." Miranda's response was breathless from fright.

As Miranda trailed off Marie noticed that her pulse had changed significantly. The sudden change was worrying, as it wasn't natural for a person's heart to slow down that quickly.

"Miranda, your pulse is a bit stran-" Marie was cut off by both shock and extreme embarrassment as Miranda bit his neck. The action was unexpected, he didn't know what had gotten into Miranda and his thoughts began to trail to places they shouldn't. The overdrive of thoughts caused his headphones to short circuit, and after another second or two all of his thoughts completely blanked out.

* * *

A/N: Just go ahead and ignore this entire thing, uh, I'll just be in the corner of shame now bye bye. Also, I really, really do need encouragement on this story. While I do love it, the characters can be difficult, so writing it with little to no recognition from my readers is making it really hard to write. So please, please, please just take the time to say SOMETHING I couldn't care less if you just left a smiley face.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 9

No one really spoke of the moving incident, after it was all fixed. It became a topic of some minor joking, but almost everyone was far too embarrassed about just how easily they were defeated in the situation to keep conversations about it going on for very long.

As the moving day came closer, everyone around the Order seemed to grow more excited. The entire place was practically buzzing with excitement and activity.

"I wonder what the new headquarters will be like," Miranda thought aloud. It seemed like this was the first time since the Level Four's attack that she had been able to have a completely peaceful, fairly calm day. So far there had been no unfortunate incidents and Miranda was grateful for that.

"I don't know. For Kanda's sake I hope it has a forest nearby he can train in," Marie answered, "It would be nice if there weren't as many stairs, too."

"Yes, that would be nice. Stairs can be very troublesome," Miranda agreed. She wasn't even going to begin to think about how many times she had fallen down the stairs of the current headquarters. She always seemed to trip when she was going up or down stairs, as such they had become rather dreadful obstacles.

"I heard that the building isn't nearly as tall as this one, and it's far more spread out, from what I heard some of the finders who were sent to look at it say," Marie said.

"I'm kind of excited for the move," Miranda smiled, "A small change in surroundings will be interesting."

"It certainly will," Marie agreed. He was secretly dreading the move, it would be similar to times when people had rearranged the furniture around the Order without telling him. He didn't want to bother anyone when they got there, but he knew he would have trouble getting around at first. He just hoped he wouldn't run into too many doors, as he had the times he had been in unfamiliar buildings.

"Marie, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but will you be alright at the new headquarters? I mean, not that I'm saying you can't tale care of yourself, but will you be able to find your way around without running into things?" Miranda asked. She was more than willing to help Marie if he would need it, but she was afraid she had come off as inconsiderate or rude.

"I will probably be a little lost at first, but I should be fine. I just hope that there is as little furniture there as there is here so I won't have to worry about that," Marie answered in good humor, "And don't worry, you weren't being rude."

"I'd always be more than happy to help you around, though I can't guarantee we won't end up on the other side of the building than where we're trying to go," Miranda offered.

"That would be very helpful. And don't worry, that will happen anyways at first," Marie laughed at her comment about getting lost, "And I'm sure everyone else will be getting lost on and off for awhile."

"Really? Everyone else seems so good with directions though," Miranda sounded rather skeptical about the comment.

"Yes, but they take awhile to get used to new environments. This means that they don't usually get used to where things are for a few days," Marie explained.

"I guess that makes sense," Miranda said as she thought about it. She knew that Allen was terrible with directions, but she had never known any of the others to get lost.

"Would it be alright if I sat here?" Krory, who had only recently been released from the infirmary, motioned to the empty chair across from the two of them.

"Of course," Miranda smiled.

"It's good to know you're out of the infirmary. How are you doing?" Marie asked.

"For having just got out of the infirmary, very well," Krory responded happily. With most of the other members of the Order being too busy with the move to talk he had been rather lonely; finding people to talk to was a very pleasant surprise for him.

"That's nice to hear," Miranda smiled. She didn't know Krory very well, but she was always more than happy to hear a comrade was well. As the conversation died down the table fell into a half awkward and half content silence. It wasn't very often that other people asked to sit with the two, so conversations usually stopped for awhile when someone did. The silence was only broken when Miranda decided to continue the conversation, "Are you excited about going to the new headquarters, Krory?"

After that the conversation picked back up and the three stayed in the cafeteria long after they had finished eating.

* * *

A/N: Hey, sorry for the short chapter. I felt it would be best to leave this one here, because the story picks up pace again after this(well, it was supposed to but looking at what I've done for the next chapter it doesn't really, oh well *shrug*). Think of this as a filler chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 10

"How did your mission go, Miranda?" Marie asked once he had managed to find Miranda. She had been gone for a few days, and none of the other exorcists had heard back about the group on the mission. He hadn't exactly been worried, it had only been about three days, but he couldn't help but wonder how she was doing. It was always a relief when a friend returned to the Order from a long mission.

"It went fine, how have things been here?" Miranda sounded tired, but it was to be expected. Exorcists returned to the Order as soon as mission were completed with the Ark; they didn't get a chance to rest before returning back. Miranda's innocence was also very energy draining which would have added to her exhaustion.

"Things have been fairly tense around here. Since the staff was informed about Allen being the 14th things have been more than a little uneasy," Marie admitted.

"Oh," Miranda mumbled. She hated that everyone seemed to hate Allen, even though he hadn't done anything to harm anyone. Even if there was the chance that he would he hadn't yet, Miranda just couldn't see why everyone thought so poorly of him.

"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will sort itself out. Usually when something like this happens it takes a few days for the shock of it to settle a little," Marie assured.

"Really? I didn't think anything like this had happened before," Miranda questioned. She hadn't been at the Order very long, but she was sure that she would have heard stories from someone if there had been another situation similar to the current one in the past.

"There haven't been situations exactly like this before, but there have been situations where the order has been given to kill exorcists. Usually they betrayed the Order somehow, and every time it's happened before things were about like this for a week or two after. Don't worry, things will be a bit less tense in about a week," Marie explained.

Upon entering the cafeteria Miranda could tell what Marie had been talking about. It seemed everyone who knew about the situation that was in the cafeteria at the moment just ate silently. Not more than five minutes after Miranda and Marie had gotten their food and starting eating had Allen entered the cafeteria. With his entrance accusing murmurs could be heard between many of the newer members of the science department. Only the finders, it seemed, were unaware of the situation.

"Poor Allen," Miranda broke the silence at their table.

"He does have rather unfortunate luck, doesn't he?" Marie agreed with her comment.

"Do you think one of us will really have to kill him eventually?" Miranda knew that she shouldn't let the conversation take this type of course, but she couldn't help it. She was fond of Allen, she wanted to protect him because he had been so kind to her. She thought of him as a younger brother, and the thought that he may someday kill them if they didn't kill him was a hard thought for her to grasp.

"Who knows. I doubt any of us could say for sure," Marie answered.

* * *

"Marie, do you want me to read to you?" Miranda asked.

"If you would like to," Marie said, "It's been awhile since we've had the time to relax, so it does seem like a good idea."

"Do want me to pick a book, or find a few and read the summaries to you?" Miranda asked. After three times getting lost the two had finally managed to find the library, and they were both very glad to see that many of the books from the old Head Quarters had been salvaged.

"Pick a book that you think sounds nice," Marie smiled.

"Oh, okay," Miranda smiled back as she began looking at the various books, occasionally pulling one from a shelf to read the back of it. After about five minutes she had found a good book, and walked over to the small table Marie was sitting at. The room in this building that was being used as the library didn't have a soft, carpeted floor like the old building had. Miranda started reading.

Neither of the two exorcists had realized just how much time had passed until Miranda realized they only had three pages of the book left. It had been a fairly long book, and after she had finished reading she glanced at the clock that sat near the door. It showed that they had been there for nearly two hours.

"Wow, we've been here for two hours," Miranda laughed slightly. It was nearly nine o'clock at night, if the clock was correct.

"I thought it seemed like you had been reading for awhile," Marie said.

"I guess I had. It didn't really seem like that long, up until the last few pages. Do you want me to start another book?" Miranda offered.

Marie shook his head no in response, "Your voice is getting hoarse from talking, you should take a break."

"I guess you're right. Do you want to go get dinner?" Miranda asked. Neither of them had been hungry earlier before they went looking for the library, so they hadn't eaten dinner yet that day. Miranda was starting to get hungry.

"Sure, hopefully we can find the cafeteria," Marie agreed. He was sure he would be able to hear the usual babble of voices from the cafeteria, but he still had trouble finding the generally crowded room sometimes.

"Yes, hopefully," Miranda agreed. She wasn't going to admit how many times she had gotten lost trying to find the room. Even though she visited the cafeteria so often she just had a poor memory for directions and it showed in situations like this.

Thankfully it didn't take too long for the two to find the cafeteria, though this was mostly thanks to Marie's hearing.

After they had finished eating Miranda decided she needed to go back to her room and finish her part of the mission report from her mission a few days before, "I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well."

"You too, Miranda. Good luck finishing the report," Marie said. He was lucky enough that he didn't have to fill out mission reports anymore, though he knew it was because he couldn't write legibly anymore.

* * *

A/N: Oh look, another chapter with next to no story progression, yay~ I promise I will go further in the events of the manga next chapter. Sorry that I am a lazy writer. Thanks so much for reading.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 11

"Are you really sure you're alright to go on this mission?" Miranda fretted.

"I'm fine, Miranda," Marie assured, "I've suffered from far worse injuries before and gone on missions before they fully recovered."

"Are you really sure?" Miranda hadn't stopped questioning him about his health since they had learned of their most recent mission. Since the Order was short handed they were even sending out injured exorcists. To Marie, his injuries weren't very bad, but Miranda didn't seem to agree.

"Besides, you just got back from your last mission. I'm sure that they could send someone else," Miranda insisted.

"It's fine," Marie was trying very hard to be patient with her, but it was getting rather difficult. He had returned from his most recent mission to France just a week before. He had seen that week as quiet awhile to be allowed rest between missions, "Besides, Miranda, there's not really anyone else they could send right now. Everyone else has already been sent out on a mission. This mission probably won't take very long, and you'll be there in case I get injured. Everything will be fine, so please just calm down."

Miranda reluctantly dropped the subject. They had just enough time to finish their lunch before the mission, as they had been called to the briefing while they were eating. Miranda returned to her food, eating rather quickly in fear that she might cause them to be late to the Ark gate.

"We should probably leave, soon. If we're late then we would have to wait quite awhile to get permission to use the Ark again," Marie said after a few minutes.

Miranda nodded and hummed in agreement. They took their dishes to the dirty dishes table and hurried to the Ark room.

"You got here just in time, we were afraid you would be late," the finders who was going to accompany them spoke in a humorous tone.

"I'm glad we got here in time," Marie responded back with a light chuckle, "It would have been inconvenient to have to wait for permission to use the Ark again."

"That would have definitely been a problem," one of the finders agreed. After a pause he added, "It looks like the gate should be opening in a few seconds. I wish you all good luck on your mission."

"Thank you," Miranda smiled and thanked the finder for the wish of luck.

After the gate opened and they walked through, finding the door that led to where the needed to go, everyone in the group was given their code to get back through the Ark to return to the Order after the mission was over.

"The reports about the innocence mostly came from this area of town," the finder explained as he led Miranda and Marie through the town, "We think it has something to do with an old abandoned building, since many people are claiming that it's haunted."

"What makes them say that it's haunted?" Marie asked.

"People see silhouettes of people in the windows, even though it's empty. They hear voices from inside when they walk by, and some people have claimed that they've heard loud, childish laughter from inside the building at times. Until we know a bit more about the building, though, it would preferable to avoid it all together. The reports about the laughter from the building, especially those that claim it's a very disturbed, child-like laugh suggest that this might involve a level four akuma. If we think there's a chance that it's a level four, we will be evacuating the town and bringing in as many generals as we can spare. It was decided that you two's abilities would be the most useful in learning more about this situation," the finder explained.

"How would Time Record be useful in figuring anything out?" Miranda asked.

"Well, actually the thought in having you as a part of this mission is that, if worst comes to worst, you can use Time Record to stop the akuma for long enough that everyone can evacuate," the finder answered.

"Shall we go ask around the city about the building, then?" Marie asked.

"Yes, I'll go make sure that all of the information about where we will be staying is correct. How about we meet up here in an hour," the finder nodded.

"That sounds like a reasonable plan," Marie agreed.

Miranda only nodded in agreement.

"Where should we start asking around?" Miranda asked.

"Probably in the places closest to the building, then probably in some of the more crowded areas of the city," Marie answered. With this decided the two set ff to figure out what was going on.

* * *

"Time Record, activate!" no one knew for certain if Miranda's innocence would be able to stop or slow down akuma, but there was no time to test that in their current situation.

"Good, it worked," the finder accompanying Miranda and Marie had sighed in relief when their plan had worked out, "Miss Lotto, how long do you think you'll be able to keep Time Record activated?"

"A few days, probably," Miranda answered uncertainly.

"We'll start getting everyone evacuated from the town. Miranda, please stay here and be careful," Marie said.

"I will," Miranda nodded. She sat down on a nearby bench as she watched Marie and the finder go. Their plan had originally been to evacuate the citizens as soon as Marie had confirmed that the house was indeed full of akuma, but the akuma had all attacked when they had been passing the building. Miranda, not even sure if Time Record was capable of stopping akuma, had activated Time Record. Thankfully, it had worked, and showing the true resilience of members of the Black Order the small group had immediately resumed their original plans.

Miranda, out of sheer boredom, decided to count how many akuma there were in the swarm that had been hidden within the abandoned building. The building had been rather large, and it wasn't much of a surprise to Miranda when she counted close to fifty akuma, all ranging from level ones to a singular level four.

"I guess this mission will be a bit more difficult that it was supposed to be," Miranda sighed quietly as she lightly turned Time Record's disk around in her hands. If she could keep Time Record activated until everyone was evacuated and until the generals that had been contacted arrived then there was a chance the mission would be possible to complete.

It was a few hours before Marie returned from helping the finder evacuate the city, "How are you doing, Miranda?"

"I'm fine. Has everyone managed to leave the city?" Miranda asked.

"No, but everyone has been told to leave. Most of the people are just packing things they'll need for the few days they'll have to be gone," Marie responded. He sat down beside Miranda.

"That's good to know. How long do you think it will be until the generals get here to handle the situation?" Miranda questioned. She wanted to know just how long she would have to stay awake.

"It will probably be a few days. I'm really sorry that we have to ask you to keep Time Record activated for that long," Marie spoke with an apologetic tone.

"Don't worry, a few days isn't too bad," Miranda assured, "I'm just glad I can help somehow, even if it's not much."

"We certainly wouldn't have been able to complete this mission without you," Marie pointed out, "You're helping us a lot more than I think you realize."

Miranda really never knew how to respond whenever people said things like that to her. She wanted to deny she helped at all, but she knew many people found things like that annoying, so she simply didn't respond aside from a light sigh.

"How large is Time Record's range right now?" Marie asked. He needed to know how far away from the akuma Miranda could get before Time Record lost control over them.

"Not very, I'm afraid. To conserve enough power to freeze that many akuma I had to shrink the range down a lot. I would say not past the corner of the building and that lamp post," Miranda said, pointing to the spots she had meant. It left just enough area around the building that she could walk to the edge of the street or the back of the old building. Realizing that Marie couldn't see where she had been motioned to, Miranda immediately began to stutter an apology, "I am _so _sorry! I didn't mean to be so careless! I'm sorry!"

"It's alright, Miranda," Marie assured, trying to calm her down, "Don't worry, it was just an honest mistake. Just try to tell me how far from here you can go?"

"You know the street you crossed on your way here? The edge on this side of that street," Miranda answered, still rather flustered over her mistake, "And to the back wall of the building the akuma were in. I can't go past the closest sides of the buildings on either side of this one."

"That really isn't very far," Marie had a basic sense of the area around the building, and he knew that this left very little area for Miranda to go around.

"Oh well," Miranda said with a small smile, "At least this way I won't have to worry about getting in anyone's way."

"You shouldn't talk about yourself like you're a nuisance," Marie said, his tone was extremely serious, "You don't normally get in anyone's way, Miranda. Yes, you trip up occasionally, but tell me someone who doesn't mess up sometimes?"

"Well, everyone messes up sometimes, but I mess up a lot more than most people," Miranda said bitterly, "I really am a nuisance to people, though."

Marie sighed, "Miranda, no you're not. If that many akuma had been left to wander free, then a lot of people would be dying right now. You've given the Order a very, very great advantage, and you've saved a lot of people. And if you want to look at yourself as an individual, without thinking of the Order, you've not only tried your best to help your friends whenever you could, but you've shown them kindness when no one else would. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Miranda."

"I really am thankful that you think so well of me, but I just can't agree with you," Miranda shook her head, "But your opinion really does mean a lot to me. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Marie responded with a sigh. He really didn't feel like she should be thanking him for simply speaking his opinion, but he had learned that trying to argue with her about things like this would get them no where.

The two sat in silence for quite awhile before Miranda said, "Maybe you should go check on the finder. He's been gone for a long time."

"I probably should. I'll be right back," Marie assured as he stood and walked in the direction he had come from before.

Miranda glanced up at the swarm of akuma, all of them completely still in the air. It was a truly grotesque sight, all of the various akuma. Some of the level twos were twisted and misshapen, like something from a nightmare, while others simply looked like deformed animals. The one akuma that really chilled Miranda's blood was the level four. She couldn't remember much about the level four's attack on their previous Head Quarters because of her own level of consciousness at the time, but seeing the akuma stuck midair in front of her left her glad she hadn't.

Miranda hadn't noticed the sound of footsteps behind her, but her body stiffened as she felt cold metal pressed against her throat.

"That uniform is awful familiar. In fact, someone wearing a uniform like that came through here a few years ago," a young woman's voice spoke, "And when he was passing through our town, creatures like those killed my family. Well, I can assure you I'm not letting you or any of your uniformed friends cause that again."

Miranda's thoughts were far too scrambled to put together a response, or even comprehend what was going on. All she could do was sit still and hope that the knife didn't move.

"What, you don't even feel remorse for what you've caused the people of this town," the young woman asked in a harsh voice as she pushed the blade down just the slightest bit. A small trail of blood dripped lightly down Miranda's throat from the small cut left by the knife.

Miranda finally managed to put together a single coherent thought. If she were to die, then the swarm of akuma would be free to do what they wanted, "W-We're just trying to help you all."

"Help us? Oh, that's a good one! Help us! Really? Then tell me, why is it that you are wearing the same uniform of the man who came through here and brought those creatures here in the first place?" the woman's laugh was nearly psychotic and her expression was terrifying, "I'm almost tempted to let you keep talking, you're just so funny! Too bad I'm just too close to avenging my baby girl."

Miranda could feel the knife shaking in the woman's hand, but she didn't doubt how serious the young lady was.

"Please, don't kill me. I don't want anyone here to die, but right now I'm the one keeping those monsters from killing everyone," Miranda reasoned shakily.

"You're so arrogant, saying that you've got that kind of power," the woman cackled. Her grip tightened on the handle of the knife and she began to press down on Miranda's neck, getting ready to move the knife and slit her throat.

"Ma'am, please let her go," a calm voice reasoned. It was the finder from before.

"We mean this town and it's people no harm, we're just here to destroy these monsters and leave," Marie's tone was just as calm as the finder's. He and the finder had just returned to the area.

"I'm sure that's what the last person wearing that uniform thought when they came here, but they let so many people be killed!" the woman did move the knife away from Miranda's neck, but only to brandish it threateningly towards the other two.

"Please put the knife down," the finder said, "We'll try to talk about this later, but I need you to step away from her, and put the knife down."

"What is there to talk about? You all are connected to the people responsible for my family's death, and I plan to get my revenge," the woman's voice was now disturbingly calm.

"Ma'am, please don't hurt her. She just wants to protect this town," Marie could tell by the woman's heartbeat that she was either about to kill Miranda or attack them. The way her pulse raced was proof enough of this.

"You all are sick liars!" the woman accused, just as she plunged the knife into Miranda's abdomen.

Miranda gasped in pain and surprise. The shock of the sudden injury caused Time Record to deactivate. Miranda quickly reactivated Time Record, with a stuttered, stangled, "T-Time Record, activate."

"Miranda!" Marie exclaimed.

"I'll get revenge, I'll kill all three of you!" the woman pulled the knife from Miranda's abdomen and charged at the finder.

The finder moved out of the way and caught the woman's wrist. He took the knife from her.

"Give that back! I'll kill you!" the woman shrieked and lunged to get the knife back.

Marie caught the woman's arms and gently pinned them to her sides, "Please calm down ma'am." He had to keep the tone of anger out of his voice, knowing it wouldn't help the situation. He just couldn't help being angry at this young woman who had hurt someone as passive as Miranda.

"How can I calm down when it's your fault everything I'd ever dreamed of died?!" the woman struggled to break his grip on her arms. Her voice was hysterical.

"Ma'am, I can assure you that our intention is not to harm anyone, and it never has been the intent of any of our comrades," the finder spoke soothingly, but his attention was focused on Miranda.

Thankfully the wound wasn't bleeding very much, and it didn't appear that the knife had gone very deep.

"Give me that knife back!" the woman howled in fury as she struggled even harder to free herself. Somehow she slipped free.

Marie went to catch the woman again before she could reach the finder and retrieve the knife, but unfortunately he wasn't quick enough.

The woman snatched the knife from the finder's hand and then turned, slashing the knife at Marie. Seemingly out of pure luck she managed to land a hit, and left a deep cut on Marie's left shoulder.

Marie cursed quietly at the sudden pain, but wasted no time in getting the knife away from the young woman. By the time he had stepped back enough to keep the knife out of the woman's reach, he could tell that his shoulder had been healed by Time Record.

* * *

A/N: Heheh, I'm just gonna leave this here. Also, so sorry for the long wait on this. I had major writer's block, and I changed my writing schedule, so I had to try and fit this past the change.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 12

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but it seems you won't listen to reason," the finder apologized as he pressed down on the small gap in the woman's collarbone, cutting off the circulation to her brain until she passed out. Once he was certain the woman would be unconscious for awhile, he took the knife from Marie. "Madame exorcist, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Miranda answered. However, her voice gave away that she was in a great deal of pain.

"I was talking with a supporter of the Order earlier when I was evacuating people. He was a doctor, and I don't think he's left yet. I'm going to go find him to see if he can come take care of your injuries," the finder announced before leaving to find help.

"Is the wound bleeding very badly?" Marie asked as he took a seat on the bench beside Miranda.

"No, it's not. It is bleeding a bit, but I think it'll be fine," Miranda responded in a strained voice.

"I shouldn't have left you alone. I'm sorry," Marie apologized. If he hadn't left then there was a very likely chance that he would have heard the young woman approaching and would have been able to prevent any of that from happening.

Miranda frowned slightly, "It wasn't your fault that any of that happened. I shouldn't have been daydreaming and not paying attention to what was around me."

"I would have heard her a long time before you saw her, Miranda. I would have been able to warn you," Marie argued.

"It's fine, really. Ow..." Miranda whimpered as she accidentally shifted the way she was sitting and brought a small burst of pain to her stomach.

Worry tinged Marie's voice, "Are you okay?"

"Fine, I just moved a little too much," Miranda winced, "It will probably stop hurting in a few minutes."

"Try to sit still, if you can. I know it might be a bit difficult, but injuries like that tend to get worse whenever they're aggravated," Marie advised.

Miranda nodded, then, remembering Marie couldn't see the motion, said, "I'll try not to move."

They sat in silence, mostly for Miranda's sake, until the finder returned.

A slightly older man followed the finder, and he carried a doctor's bag. When he and the finder reached the bench where Miranda and Marie were sitting he greeted the two. He gave a quick introduction, before asking which of them had more severe injuries.

"Her injuries are the most severe," Marie answered.

"That does look like a rather nasty wound. Was this inflicted by a knife?" the doctor asked, only briefly glancing at the wound before he asked this.

"It was," the finder nodded.

"Let me see the knife," the doctor said. The finder handed him the knife, and after a quick inspection of the kitchen knife the doctor handed it back to the finder, "The good news is that the knife isn't rusted, so there's not much of a risk for lockjaw. I'm going to need to get a slightly closer look at the injury, so I'm going to have to roll the bottom of your shirt up, pardon me."

Miranda moved her arms slightly so that it was a bit easier for the doctor to manipulate the fabric of her jacket. After her jacket and undershirt were rolled up past the wound the doctor stooped to get a closer look at the clean cut.

"I'd say, since the wound isn't bleeding too much and it doesn't look very deep you probably won't need any stitches. I'll just clean the wound and then bandage it," he explained.

"That's good to hear," Miranda hadn't really been very concerned about that, though had the cut hurt less she probably would have been much more concerned.

"Cleaning the wound may sting just a bit," the doctor warned. He avoided directly touching the cut, and cleaned the areas around it, but it still hurt. After the wound had been cleaned as much as was necessary the doctor carefully taped a thick pad of gauze over it, "It would be best if you tried not to move around too much, it might make the injury worse."

"I'll try not to," Miranda didn't really plan on doing much aside from sitting on the bench at this point. The injury was already stinging too badly to stand up; she feared her knees would buckle if she tried to stand.

"Are either of you gentlemen injured?" the doctor asked.

"Miranda, it would probably best if I got my arm treated sooner. That way you won't have to waste so much energy with Time Record," Marie said. His tone was gentle and coaxing.

Knowing that Marie was right, Miranda let the time around his shoulder return to normal. She could never stand watching her comrade's injuries return; it was especially hard to have to let Marie's injuries return.

"This was inflicted with the same knife?" the doctor asked.

"Yes, it was," Marie nodded.

"Alright, which means we probably don't have to worry about lockjaw, then. Your arm is bleeding pretty bad, I think you're probably going to need stitches," the doctor observed. He took a pad of gauze and pressed it over Marie's shoulder before addressing the blind exorcist, "Here, hold this here, and we'll see if a few minutes of pressure will reduce the bleeding at all. If it doesn't you'll definitely need stitches."

"Poor thing, she finally lost her mind," the doctor's gaze had drifted to the unconscious woman on the sidewalk, "I was afraid she would do something like this, one day. I really should have kept a closer eye on her, especially since there were going to be exorcists in town. I'm sorry for being too careless."

"From what she said, she must have lost a lot," Miranda said quietly. She winced slightly at the bit of pain that speaking had caused.

The doctor nodded, "About three years ago she had a baby. Her and her husband loved their daughter so much, and they also loved each other more than I can really tell. Around the time her daughter turned six months old, an exorcist came through here, there had been swarms of akuma gathering all around this town. They didn't find anything, but quite a few of the akuma escaped them and attacked a lot of the people out and about. Her husband and daughter had been among those killed by the akuma. After that, she wasn't really the same. My wife had helped deliver her child, so I had seen her a lot, and I also did check ups for her daughter. I had tried prescribing some sedatives for her, one of the house keepers she had hired began living with her full time after all of that happened, so whenever she became too violent I had instructed the house keeper to give her a small dose. I really should have checked up on her more often."

"You couldn't have predicted something like this would happen," Marie pointed out, "Though, it might not be smart to leave her on her own anymore."

"It definitely won't. I'd hate to turn her in for attempted murder, but I'm not really sure what else could be done," the doctor had walked over and checked the woman's pulse, just to make sure she was okay.

"There really isn't much else you can do, much as I hate to say that," the finder replied. He felt bad for the rather unfortunate woman, but he couldn't forgive people who tried to kill other people unless it was in defense.

After the doctor was certain that the young woman was uninjured, aside from being unconscious, he walked back over to Marie, "It looks like that stopped most of the bleeding. Lucky for you, that means you won't be needing stitches."

"That's good to hear," Marie had never been particularly fond of stitches, or staples, or any type of suture, really. It wasn't that he was afraid of needles, he just preferred leaving a wound to heal on its own unless stitches were absolutely necessary.

"I'm just going to rinse the injury out now, then bandage it," the doctor said.

Once Marie's shoulder was taken care of, the doctor left, taking the unconscious woman with him. It had been decided she would be turned in to the police for attempted murder.

"I've informed the generals of what has happened, and General Teidoll has agreed to leave his current mission to the rest of his team to get here faster. I haven't gotten hold of the other generals yet, though," the finder reported, "I'm hoping it shouldn't be more than two days before they can all get here. How long do you think you can keep Time Record activated, Miss Lotto?"

"I'm not sure, honestly," Miranda said quietly, "Probably about three days. Maybe a little longer."

As the finder continued to try and contact the other generals, the small group fell silent. By that point in time, many of the people of the city had probably left and the silence that lingered in the air seemed to show it. The only sound in the small area was the finder talking to various members of the Order, trying to track down the generals.

"The sky is getting cloudy. I wonder if it will start raining soon," Miranda mused quietly, almost as if she were just talking to herself.

"I'm not sure. In case it does, though, it might be a good idea to see if that old building is stable enough for you to stay in," Marie said. He didn't want her being stuck out in the rain, but they both knew the building was extremely old and out of use so it might not be stable enough for someone to stay inside.

Casting another look at the steadily cloudier sky Miranda said, "That does sound like a good idea." She really didn't want to have to stand up and walk; the injury was still aching and she knew walking would only make it worse.

"Do you think you can stand?" Marie asked.

"Yes," Miranda nodded. Even if it would hurt to stand, she knew she could. When Marie offered her a hand up from the bench she gladly accepted it. They walked over to the old building.

Marie could already hear that the structure probably wasn't stable. The building seemed to creak and shift with just the slightest breeze, and a lot of the wood and flooring from the second floor sounded as if it were about to cave in, "I don't think it's safe, Miranda. The building sounds like it's about to collapse."

"It looks that way, too," Miranda agreed. Even just looking through the hole in the wall that the akuma created she could see so many planks of wood about to fall from the upper floors. Miranda wished that Time Record's range could have been just a bit larger, but she just didn't have the energy to maintain Time Record over any larger of an area than necessary. Her concerns about the weather were proven correctly when it started to rain. "It's a good thing our uniforms are designed to be water resistant, isn't it?" Miranda just seemed to be looking for a bright side in this situation.

"Yes, that is a very good thing," Marie agreed, hoping to at least cheer her up a bit. The rain began to get heavier.

"Why don't you two go back to the inn?" Miranda suggested. She hated to see the both of them staying out in the rain.

"We'll be fine out here, Miss Lotto," the finder assured.

"But what if you two get sick from the weather?" Miranda asked. She was truly concerned for their well being, "You two really should go back. Just because I can't go that far doesn't mean you should have to suffer out here."

"I don't want to leave you alone out here again, though. I'm worried something else might happen," Marie politely refused to leave.

"I promise I'll be fine. I feel bad about you two feeling like you have to stay out here with me," Miranda paused in speaking for a moment to give the stab wound across her abdomen time to stop burning from standing and speaking, "Just go back to the inn for awhile. Just until it stops raining?"

Marie remained silent for a moment, weighing the options. He knew Miranda wouldn't stop bothering him about it until he got out of the rain, but if he left there was also the chance that something else would happen to her. He didn't want her getting injured, and so when he responded, he said, "I'm staying here, Miranda. I don't want you getting hurt anymore. With this many akuma around there's a very good chance that a Noah might show up."

"I guess, if you're sure you don't mind the rain, I won't argue anymore," Miranda finally said. She was truly grateful for the company, but she still felt ridiculously guilty that they wanted to stay out in the rain with her.

The finder, who had just finished up with the last few calls, walked over to report the news. "The rest of the generals should be here in about two days as well. Hopefully the weather will improve a bit, before then."

"Yes, I do hope it stops raining soon," Miranda agreed. Even with the hood of her coat pulled up water still managed to get in through the opening of her hood and the shoulders of her shirt were soaked a cold from the icy rain. With that said, she returned to the small bench where she had previously been sitting. At least the wall against the back of the bench offered some protection from the wind. It wasn't long before Marie and the finder joined her.

As the wind picked up in the opposite direction so that it wasn't blocked by the short, courtyard wall, Miranda began to shiver. The rain was cold, and even though her clothes were water resistant the cold still seemed to seep through.

It seemed Marie had heard the quiet chattering of her teeth, as he asked, "Are you cold?"

"J-Just a bit, b-but it's fine," Miranda assured. It was rather difficult to speak steadily with her teeth chattering so much.

Without any comment Marie inched over a bit to sit closer to Miranda a wrap an arm around her shoulders.

Even though the warmth was muted a bit by the chilly fabric between the two, Miranda was still grateful for any warmth. She could help but inch a bit closer to him so that her side and arm were lightly pressed against his side. She thanked him quietly. Having finally found a warm, comfortable way to sit she stayed still. Her injury still hurt a lot, and it felt nice to sit still. She knew she couldn't let herself get too comfortable, though, because then she would risk falling asleep and accidentally deactivating Time Record.

The rain didn't show any promise of letting up, and soon it started thundering. Lightning forked across the sky and the wind picked up. Soon the rain was coming down in diagonal sheets that made seeing even a foot in front of oneself difficult. With the foul weather, Miranda genuinely questioned how, not only the finder, but Marie as well had fallen asleep. She didn't bother trying to question it much, though. She was just glad they could sleep through the weather.

To try and keep herself awake Miranda began counting the claps of thunder. By the time the weather calmed down and the rain had settled to a light drizzle she had lost count of the thunder. Without someone to light the streetlamps, it was pitch black under the clouded sky. Miranda leaned her head against the side of Marie's chest. With her ear pressed lightly to his chest she could hear him breathing quietly, though the sound was a bit muffled by her hood. After only ten minutes of sitting like that Miranda had to move her head, the steady sound was making her very drowsy.

By the time the sky began to lighten Miranda was running out of ways to keep herself from falling asleep. She only hoped one of the others woke up soon so she would have someone to talk to. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem to her, but with all that had happened the previous day she was rather exhausted. Speaking of the previous day's excitement, the injury ached even more than it had the day before. She could hardly move because of it. She stared at the sky, hoping that thinking about all of the details of the changing sky might help her stay awake for some time. It was nice to see all of the clouds were clearing and the sun was coming up. It was less than ten minutes before Marie finally woke up.

It didn't take more than a minute or two for Marie to wake up completely, and when he realized he had fallen asleep, he immediately apologized for making Miranda stay up alone all night.

"Don't worry about it, Marie," Miranda assured, "I would have hated it if you had stayed up all night because of me. You needed sleep."

"Next time that happens, wake me up. It's not fair that you have to stay up all alone," Marie said. His tone left no room for argument.

"I'll try to remember to. I just don't want you to be too exhausted to fight. Just try not to worry about it, alright?" Miranda didn't want to turn it into an argument, but she didn't want him or anyone else who ever went on a mission with her to feel like they had to stay awake with her. If they were too tired to fight, then what would be the purpose of her keeping Time Record activated.

Marie could tell she wanted that to be the end of the conversation, and he respected that.

"How is your shoulder feeling?" Miranda asked. She just needed to talk to keep herself from dozing off.

"It's better. How is your stomach?" Marie asked.

"A lot better," Miranda hoped she sounded convincing. In truth even the thought of standing or moving around more than just turning her head or moving her arms sounded unbearably painful.

"Miranda, I can still tell you're lying," Marie said, "You shouldn't lie about things like that. One day you could seriously cause yourself harm by pretending that you're fine."

"I really am fine, don't worry," Miranda assured. Her injuries weren't life threatening, that much she knew, so she would continue to try convincing him that she was fine.

"Just try not to hide injuries," Marie finally seemed to accept her response. He could never really seem to voice how irritating he found it when people tried to hide injuries or hide how severe injuries were for the sake of not worrying someone. Honestly, he usually worried far more about them after they did that only once than he would have about their initial injuries.

"Don't worry, I won't," Miranda said, silently praying that he wasn't too worried about her, "I mean that, Marie. I promise I won't hide injuries, ever. So please, don't worry about it."

Marie couldn't help but chuckle at how serious she had suddenly become, "I'm not too worried. I know you're not too prideful to get help for injuries. Try to remember that you're not bothering anyone if you get injured, though."

The two continued talking about just about anything they could think of for the rest of that day, if only to help Miranda stay awake. When the finder woke up, he seemed to leave them to their conversations.

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A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter! :D I promise, there will be more cute and hopefully less injury next chapter (no promises, though) so that's always nice! :D From now on I'll be updating this every other weekend.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man. If I did then all the characters would be dead, or happy. Either or, y'know?

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Chapter 13

The generals that had been called to finish Miranda and Marie's mission had arrived the evening after the incident with the revenge-crazed woman. Miranda hadn't gotten much better since that morning, but she insisted on staying to help the generals. After a considerable amount of arguing between all parties involved, it was finally decided that Miranda would be allowed to stay and help them continue fighting once she had to release Time Out from around the swarm of akuma so that damage could be caused to the swarm, but only if Marie stayed to help protect her.

Miranda had disagreed about Marie staying. She didn't want him to get hurt, and she had continued arguing against him staying to keep her safe until the final decision had been made. After that, there really wasn't much to argue about.

"Miranda when we tell you to, deactivate Time Record," General Teidoll said.

Miranda nodded. She always hated things like this. She hated having to watch her friends' injuries return or watch them put into danger. After a few moments, the command was given to deactivate Time Record.

Almost immediately, akuma were destroyed and shots were fired. Oddly enough, Miranda had gotten used to how loud battles against large swarms of akuma could be. One of the generals had been grazed by an attack from a level two, nothing serious, but if it was left even the small amount of blood from it would cause them to tire out eventually. She let Time Record reverse the time around that particular injury. With control over the time around everyone involved in the battle, Miranda could tell when one of them got even a small injury.

"Miranda, how are you doing?" Marie asked, though his attention didn't fully leave the battle.

"Fine," Miranda responded. She didn't need to ask how he was doing, she could tell how many injuries he had already received because of Time Record. She wished he had left.

At this point in the fight, Miranda began wondering what had happened to the level four akuma. It seemed that it had disappeared into the swarm of akuma around it. The level four seemed to read her mind, as it made itself known with a loud, screeching laugh that left everyone covering their ears in pain at the sudden noise. Forcing Time Record to keep working, Miranda made sure to heal any damage done to anyone's ears by the noise. Her own ears were still ringing, but she couldn't waste energy on herself.

The level four akuma seemed just as difficult to defeat as the last had, but after only thirty minutes, it too went up in flames. There was still a rather menacing swarm of lower level akuma.

When a level three akuma left a gaping wound across Marie's ribs, Miranda immediately knew she wouldn't want to deactivate Time Record. From the brief glimpse of the injury she got before she healed it she knew it would be bad. Luckily, the level three was destroyed rather quickly by the strings of Noel Organon. Miranda was surprised by how quickly the rest of the battle seemed to pass.

"We should go back to the Order before they close the Ark gate you all used," Marie decided once he couldn't hear anymore akuma.

"That's a good idea, Ma-kun," Teidoll agreed. The other generals voiced their agreement.

"Miranda, we're going back now, come on," Marie had wondered if she hadn't heard him when she didn't respond or agree with any of them. He frowned slightly when she still didn't respond, and he didn't hear her moving from the spot where she had been standing.

Teidoll seemed concerned as well. Miranda may not have been one of his students, who he honestly viewed more like his children, but he still worried about her, "Miranda, are you alright?"

"When we go back to Order I'll have to deactivate Time Record," Miranda answered quietly. They had all suffered multiple injuries, and none of them on their own would have been very serious, but the combination of all of the injuries they had was bad. She didn't want them to have to suffer with any of those injuries.

"Miranda, it's alright. Let's just go back to the Order so you can get some rest. Remember, you're hurt too," Marie spoke in a calm tone. He'd dealt with her like this once before, and it was always best to try and be calm.

"But what if one of you dies when we get back?" Miranda asked shakily.

"I promise, none of us will," Marie offered a small smile, "Come on, we need to head back now." He held out his hand for her.

Miranda finally took his hand and following behind the others, though she was definitely reluctant to do so. She walked beside Marie, holding his hand as they walked. Her hand was cold, and his warm hand was nice.

After they each recited their codes to get back through the Ark, they were let through into the Order. The hallways were fairly empty, as they had been recently.

It was decided it would probably be best to go to the medical wing of the Order before Miranda deactivated her innocence, just in case anyone had injuries that were too serious. However, when Marie told Miranda to deactivate Time Record, she refused. She didn't just refuse, she refused tearfully. She argued, saying she couldn't let their injuries return. She had seen the nasty cut to Marie's ribs, and multiple life threatening injuries each of the generals had sustained.

"Miranda, what's gotten into you?" Marie asked. He had never seen her get this upset about deactivating Time Record. Even when there were more people in worse condition, she hadn't ever gotten this upset about it.

"I don't want you to die. Most of your injuries were really bad, and I don't want you to die," Miranda didn't care how pathetic she seemed, or anything. All she cared about was figuring out a way that she didn't have to let any of them die.

Marie gently hugged her, "None of my injuries will be enough to kill me, Miranda. I don't think any of the generals sustained any injures that would kill them, either. Just deactivate Time Record. You need to rest and recover, and you can't do that if you're keeping Time Record activated. We'll all be fine."

Miranda shook her head, "I can't."

Crying made her already aching abdomen hurt even more, but she didn't care. She just wished she could help more. She felt completely worthless, utterly useless, whenever she remembered all she could do was allow someone to fight more. She felt guilty, she had never felt this awful about deactivating Time Record before, even when it meant that a lot of people would die. All she could think was how selfish she was being, how it was wrong to let herself be this emotional simply because someone she cared about more than others was at risk. Miranda wasn't exactly sure what happened, whether she had simply fallen asleep from crying and pure exhaustion, or if she had passed out. She just knew that the next thing she was completely aware of was that she was tucked snugly into one of the medical ward beds. She felt a bit groggy, as if she wasn't quite ready to wake up yet.

She looked around sleepily, and noticed the room was relatively calm. After a few more moments of questioning what had happened, she fell asleep again. The next time when she woke up, her thoughts were much cleared and her mind seemed a bit less muddled.

"Miss Lotto, it's nice to see you're awake," one of the nurses had noticed that she was awake.

"I don't remember falling asleep. What happened?" Miranda asked uncertainly.

The nurse looked a bit guilty, "We decided it would be best to give you a tranquilizer to get you to sleep and deactivate your innocence. Sorry about that, but you didn't seem like you were going to calm down and listen to anyone."

"How is everyone else?" Miranda immediately asked, it seemed that thought had been enough to finally wake her up completely.

"They're all fine, Miss Lotto. Don't worry. A couple of them had to stay in here for observation because of their injuries, but they're all going to be just fine with a bit of rest," the nurse assured.

"They're really all okay?" Miranda asked. She was relieved they were all supposedly fine.

"Yes, really. Now you need to get more rest. Your body is still recovering from your own injuries," the nurse said, "If you need anything, tell me, but try to sleep if not."

Miranda did as she was told, and tried to get more sleep. It wasn't difficult to fall asleep, she was truly exhausted still. Her body wasn't used to sustaining injuries as sever as the current one she had and she supposed her body was just trying to recover.

* * *

"How are you feeling today?" Miranda had gotten out of the medical ward a few days before Marie, but she made sure to check on him every day. It was easy for her to get overly worried about him, even though she knew he was probably fine.

"I'm feeling better. How are you doing?" Marie returned the question. He had come very close to arguing with the Head Nurse when she had said Miranda was well enough to leave the ward, but he had managed to hold his tongue. It wasn't that he didn't trust Miranda to take care of herself, he just knew that she might very likely trip and reopen the healing injury on her abdomen.

"I've been doing well. I've been especially careful not to trip," Miranda almost sounded proud of herself for having not accidentally hurt herself recently. It was definitely a personal accomplishment for herself.

Marie laughed in good nature at her enthusiasm, "I'm glad to hear that. I was getting pretty worried about you. Maybe once I'm doing a bit better we can go and explore around outside."

"That would be fun!" Miranda agreed happily. She hadn't had very much to do recently, aside from reading and a bit of sewing. After all, she didn't want to bother Johnny for a new uniform just because hers had gotten a tear in it, and she could sew, so she decided to do something useful with her time and fix the hole left in her uniform from where she was stabbed. "Hopefully you feel up to doing that soon."

"I'm sure as soon as I'm out of here I'll be feeling well enough. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after," Marie was glad she was excited. It always made him happy to hear her excited or happy or some other positive emotion. He wished he could make her laugh more often. He might not be able to see her smile, but he could hear it in her voice when she was smiling, and he could hear the joy in her voice when she laughed.

"Really? Are you sure you'd feel up to it by then?" Miranda's tone was astonished. How could he recover from such serious injuries so quickly?

"Of course. I heal relatively quickly," Marie answered with a nod. It was true, he had been injured so many times since he had become an exorcist that his body had begun healing just a bit easier and faster than it had years ago. He also had a high pain tolerance, so injuries didn't usually bother him too badly unless they were extremely bad.

"You're certain?" Miranda asked. She didn't want him to worsen his injuries if he wasn't well enough to go out once he was released from the ward.

"Yes, Miranda. I'm absolutely certain I'll be fine," Marie assured with a smile. It seemed he had almost mastered assuring her that he was fine, because for once she seemed to believe him.

"I'm looking forward to it, then," Miranda smiled happily. She was really looking forward to spending time with him and looking around the forest outside of the new Headquarters building. She hadn't even looked around the inside of the building much, simply out of fear of getting lost.

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A/N: Thanks so much for reading, please review~


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

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Chapter 14

"Watch your step, Miranda. There's a tree root there," Marie warned, having nearly tripped over the same tree root just moments before.

"Ah, thank you," Miranda breathed a sigh of relief when she managed, for once, not to trip over something, "I would have probably tripped over that if you hadn't warned me. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. I would hate for you to trip. Warning you was absolutely no problem," Marie smiled kindly.

Miranda and Marie were out walking in the forests surrounding the new Head Quarter's building. It was wonderful, getting a chance to simply walk around and explore at a leisurely pace. So far, they had come across a few old gardens that had been abandoned, similar to the one they had found around the old building. The weather was very nice, as well. It was a bit cool, but not enough to be unpleasant, and the air was a bit dry, but not too dry. With the occasional breeze, muted a small bit by the trees, it was truly beautiful walking weather.

"Marie, there's a really low branch in front of you, be careful not to run into it," Miranda warned, returning the favor for him warning her about the root. She felt for once she could actually help him with something.

Marie felt for the branch so he could duck under it, thanking Miranda and chuckling quietly to himself. He probably would have run right into the branch had she not warned him, and for some bizarre reason he found that amusing.

"What's so funny?" Miranda asked, quite harmlessly, when she noticed he was laughing.

"I'm not really sure, it just seemed like a situation to be laughed at," Marie answered with a small shrug. Truth was, he was probably just in a really good mood at the moment, which would lead to him laughing and joking and smiling rather easily.

"I guess laughing without an explainable reason sometimes is nice," Miranda smiled, laughing a bit as well. Work had been so stressful for both of them recently, it was nice to have an opportunity to relax. Just being out of the chaotic environment inside the building was a good break. There was almost always some type of commotion, whether it be yet another of Komui's ridiculous robots, or someone arriving back from a mission badly injured, there always seemed to be a constant buzz of activity within the Order.

"Watch your step, again," Marie warned, yet again, when he noticed an uneven drop in the ground, caused by another tree root.

Miranda stepped down, careful not to lost her balance, before thanking him for the warning. Miranda sighed happily. This was such beautiful weather, she got to spend time with probably her favorite person in the Order, and so far she hadn't even tripped once. Really, this was such a great day for her.

"What are you thinking about?" Marie asked curiously.

"Nothing, really. Just thinking about how nice today is," Miranda responded. Her voice was cheerful and it was bordering on blissful.

Marie nodded his head in agreement, "Today is nice. It's good to spend some time outside, for once. Having good company like you is also very pleasant."

"I can't be that good to have around, can I?" Miranda asked in disbelief.

"You're wonderful company, Miranda. You're interesting to talk to, you're kind when someone needs comforting words, it's good to have you around," Marie assured with a gentle smile.

"Really?" Miranda seemed awed by this response. Truly, in her entire life, no one had said so many nice things to her in one conversation. She couldn't believe it. She didn't know how to respond. He was probably just being nice. He probably didn't even want to be around her. These thoughts started swirling around in her mind, and before she realized it, her foot had caught on a fallen branch from a tree. Miranda pitched forward as she lost her balance. She expected to hit the ground, but thankfully she didn't fall very far before she hit something solid and warm. When she opened her eyes, she realized Marie had stepped in and caught her.

"Are you alright?" Marie asked. He was concerned that tripping like that might have reopened her injury. He wondered why she had suddenly seemed to go silent just before she tripped. Maybe something was wrong with her.

"Yes, sorry. I tripped over a stick," Miranda apologized. She would have taken a few steps back, just to make the situation less close, but Marie's arms were loosely wrapped around her in a protective hug.

"No need to apologize," Marie assured.

"Thank you for catching me," Miranda smiled, "I would have hated to have hit the ground. Even if there are lots of leaves on the ground."

"It would have been quite cruel of me to let you fall. I'm just glad you're not injured," Marie lightly loosened his arms around her, so that if she wanted to she could easily move away from the hug. He was just enjoying the contact.

Miranda could only smile. She really didn't think many people had ever worried about her before, "Thank you so much." The hug was nice. He was warm, and he smelled nice. She returned the hug, lightly wrapping her arms around his middle.

After a few very welcome moments of peaceful, comfortable silence and hugging, Marie said, "We should probably head back soon. It sounds like the wind is picking up, and it would be bad to be out here in the rain. Think you can make it back without tripping again?" Marie's tone was far from unkind and teasing when he asked if she thought she could get back without tripping anymore.

"Really? The weather doesn't seem like it's getting bad," Miranda asked. It was still nice outside, "I can made it, I think. Thank you for worrying about me. It really means a lot to know you care that much about me."

"Why wouldn't I worry for you and care about you, Miranda?" Marie asked, "You've spent so much time with me recently, I can't imagine more than a few days going by without you around."

"I can't possibly be that important to anyone, though. I'm sorry, I just don't understand how you can think about me in any way more than a bother," Miranda just couldn't accept his words. She knew she probably seemed rude but she didn't know how to respond to things like this.

"Miranda, with my teacher gone so often, and Kanda being as anti-social as he is, you're the only person around who bothers keeping me company, aside from occasionally one of the others, but that's hardly often. You've been nothing but kind to everyone, even Kanda, since you arrived here, and you've saved each of us on multiple occasions. Without you, Kanda, Allen, Lenalee, Lavi, and I would probably all be dead right now. Of course you're important, and you're someone that I hold very dear. Please try not to think so poorly of yourself," Marie answered.

Miranda was speechless. People never really put much worth on her existence, so this was new. She didn't know how to respond.

Marie could tell she was struggling with a response, so he simply offered, "Let's go back inside, now. It might be easier if I carried you, though, so you won't have to worry so much about tripping."

"If you wouldn't mind carrying me, that would be nice," Miranda agreed. The wind was picking up, and with it the temperature was dropping. To get inside before the weather got much worse, they would be walking relatively fast and she knew she would undoubtedly fall.

"I wouldn't mind at all. You hardly weigh anything, and I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself if you tripped," Marie smiled. When he picked her up he gave her a second to move until she felt like she wasn't going to be dropped, before he started walking. It was true, to him she hardly weighed anything and she was easy to carry, "We'll have to do this again, sometime. It was nice having a chance to get a bit of a break from working."

"Yes, we certainly will have to do this again soon," Miranda agreed with a small smile. They had been required to carry their golems with them in case they needed to be called back for a short notice assignment, but it still felt like they weren't in danger of being called back to work.

Marie chuckled when he noticed Miranda had dozed off. He had noticed recently that she had learned to fall asleep just about anywhere when she could. He supposed it probably had to do with her innocence, since she had to stay awake for days on end sometimes. Her body probably needed to catch up for all of the sleep she missed during those times, or maybe she had begun to think about how tired she got at those times. He wasn't sure, but he knew that it was cute that she had managed to fall asleep while he was carrying her.

Thankfully, he managed to get them back to the building just before it started raining. Right when the door closed behind him it began raining hard.

He decided it would just be best to take her back to her room. He would feel bad about waking her up.

He ignored the quiet, mocking "ooh"s and the many comments of "they look so cute together" from various finders or scientists he passed in the halls. Really, everyone in the Order was always looking for something to gossip about. He and Miranda would probably be the main topic of much of that gossip for the next few days. He could only imagine the rumors some of the more imaginative people would come up with. He just hoped no one bothered Miranda about any of it.

When he reached Miranda's room, which was beside his own room, he carefully shifted her weight in his arms so he could open the door without dropping her. Her room was set up very similarly to his own room, so it didn't take him long to figure out where her bed was. He laid her down and pulled the blankets over her. He quietly closed the door behind him when he left.

Marie was about to go to the cafeteria when he heard the unmistakable voice of his master.

"Ma-kun! How was your date?"

"It wasn't a date, but it was nice," Marie couldn't help but frown a bit at the question. General Teidoll was always referring to any time Marie spent with Miranda as a date, and it was beginning to irk him a bit.

"You're just embarrassed that you have a crush on her," Teidoll teased. Despite his being a general, he could still be relatively immature.

"Master, I think you're being immature about this," Marie pointed out. Why did Teidoll always have to act like this? It got annoying sometimes.

Teidoll only snickered at Marie's comment, "You're just in denial."

"I assure you, Miranda and I are only friends," Marie wanted to add "at the moment" but in this situation he knew it was an ill-advised thing to do. If he said that, he would only have to put up with Teidoll's teasing comments even more.

"Of course you two are, Ma-kun," Teidoll laughed.

Marie sighed in a manner that clearly showed he had given up on this argument. Let Teidoll bother him about this, he finally decided. He wouldn't win this argument, anyway. He just wanted Teidoll to drop the subject.

He loved Miranda, but he didn't know how she felt about him, and because of that he was just going to let her decide what their relationship was. If she didn't ever approach him about having romantic feelings for him, then they would simply remain friends. Therefore, the topic at hand wasn't one he wanted to think about, nor talk about. He especially didn't want to talk about it. Rumors and chatter had a way of getting back to their source of topic rather quickly, and while he trusted Teidoll not to bother Miranda too much about any of this, he didn't trust anyone who may walk by and hear the conversation.

With Marie's silence, Teidoll sensed he had hit a nerve. He apologized, adding in, "It's just that you and Yu-kun aren't the type of people who usually get very close to someone. It's just fun to tease you about it."

"Just please don't do that anymore. It's not exactly something I want to think about," Marie requested.

"Of course. I didn't realize it was a sensitive topic," Teidoll nodded. He never wanted to tease any of his students about things that truly bothered them.

"Thank you," Marie was glad he didn't have to worry about being bothered about that anymore. He knew he could trust his master to stick to his word on this.

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A/N: Thanks a bunch for reading~


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

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Chapter 16

Marie returned the day after he and a small team had left for a short mission mission. Just like everyone had planned, it went very well and no one was injured. They had finished the mission with no problems and we're done even before they were scheduled to come back. When they got back to the Order, it was storming outside again. This time the thunder was much louder, the lightning much brighter, and the wind much stronger than it had been in the storm a few days prior. Marie was surprised when he didn't find Miranda in the cafeteria. That was normally where she was during that time of day. After he had eaten, he had gone back to his room to rest for awhile; even if the mission had been easy, it had still been exhausting. It was a few minutes before he heard Miranda's frantic heartbeat from her own room- the weather it was hard for him to pick up less noticeable noises like that, but it was alarming to hear how fast we heart was beating. It sounded like something must have absolutely terrified her. He walked to her room, knocking quietly on the door so he wouldn't scare her any more.

The answer was a shaky, "Just a second." A few moments and a few rather shaky-kneed footsteps later Miranda opened the door, "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Marie asked. He was getting worried about her. It wasn't natural for her heart to beat that quickly, nor was it even remotely healthy.

"Th-The thunder is just rather terrifying," Miranda assured, stuttering a small bit, "I'm not really used to storms like this. Back in my home town we only ever got rain."

Marie could tell all Miranda needed to calm down was a bit of a distraction from the loud claps of thunder that rattled everything. "Miranda, would you like to go to the library with me?" Marie offered politely. Already he could hear her pulse slowing to a far more normal, steady beat. Just the few seconds of conversation seemed enough to distract her.

"But you just got back from a mission. Aren't you tired?" Miranda asked uncertainly, "You really should rest."

"It's fine, the mission wasn't tiring at all," Marie brushed away her concern with a smile. "Do you want to go to the library?" he repeated the question calmly.

"Yes, that would be nice," she nodded, eyes locked on the floor and shoulders slumped, "I'm sorry you have to bother with me right now. I know it's stupid to be scared of a little thunder."

"It's no bother at all, Miranda. I offered to go, I wouldn't do that if I found you troublesome, would I? And being afraid of thunder this strong isn't stupid. If it scares you, it scares you, and there's nothing to be ashamed of about that," he offered her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a gentle smile.

"It's just such a foolish thing to be scared of. It's not like the noise alone can hurt me," she heaved another heavy sigh.

"Everyone has something senseless they're afraid of. Really, you're not so different yourself," he assured yet again as they started walking. He walked beside her, tempted to take her hand while they walked. He didn't. The situation in the cafeteria the other day had made him doubt how she would react to finding out his feelings for her even more and he knew this would be an awful time to further embarrass her.

"I'm sure that's not true. You and everyone else around here don't even seem to fear sensible things," this was said with a small frown and drawn together eyebrows.

"Of course we do. I'm afraid of heights. My master is afraid of people criticizing his drawing. Even Kanda is afraid of something rather pointless, though I don't think he would appreciate me telling you what it is," Marie explained with a slight chuckle at his own words.

"You're afraid of heights?" she asked in surprise, her previously narrowed eyes going wide.

"I am. Not extremely, though. Mostly when there are no railings or things to hold onto near a tall ledge. Neither of our fears are that uncommon," he explained, opening the library door for Miranda when they reached the room. It was much quieter in the shelf-lined room, and since it had no windows the lightning wasn't lighting up the room in erratic, spastic patterns.

Miranda had relaxed considerably, though she still wrung her hands nervously.

"Why don't we sit over here for awhile? It's a bit late to start a new book but we can sit and talk," Marie said.

The library of the new building had enough space for multiple couches and large armchairs scattered throughout the room, some clustered together around tables and others on their own between shelves. It was much more comfortable to sit on one of the large chairs or couches, Miranda and Marie had found, than sitting on the floor.

"You didn't want me to read anything to you?" Miranda blinked, following him despite her question.

"The library is much quieter in bad weather than most of the quarters, I figured the quiet would do you a bit of good until the storm is over," Marie sat down on one of the couches. Just like many of the seats, it was tacky and extremely dull colored.

Miranda sat beside him, close enough that her shoulder rested against his shoulder, "Thank you for getting me to come here. I'm feeling much better now." Her shoulders were relaxed, and she had even stopped messing with her gloves as she did when she was nervous.

"That's good. Your heart rate is at a normal pace right now, which is certainly a good thing. I thought you might have been having heart issues when I first got back," her pulse had sounded strong, not like the pulse of someone about to die, but it had been so fast he had been very, very concerned.

"I thought that might have been the problem at first, too. I've never actually been awake during a storm like this before, so I didn't realize how much they scare me," she said. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I'm glad it wasn't anything like that," he moved his arm a bit so that he could rest his arm around her, but she was still leaning her head against his shoulder. They normally sat like this when she read aloud.

"Me too. I would have hated to have to bother the Head Nurse," Miranda's light tone and small smile implied she was trying to joke around a bit.

"Miranda..." Marie's tone warned of a bit of a lecture about how her problems and injuries weren't a bother to anyone. "You know that it is the job of everyone who works in the hospital wing to help anyone who is unwell. I know you were joking, but thinking that way will do nothing but hurt you."

"You're right," Miranda wanted to avoid the usual argument that went with this, so she only responded with these words and a small sigh. She closed her eyes, relaxing against Marie's side further. A particularly loud clap of thunder made her tense up again, only to have Marie hug her a bit closer.

"The thunder sounds like it's getting further away. The storm should be over soon," he assured, hoping to distract her from the weather. "Did you remember to eat lunch today?"

"Yes, I did," she nodded. He always worried about her eating enough; she was almost happy someone worried about her even if she felt a bit guilty for causing him more worry than necessary.

"That's good. Did you do anything interesting today?" he kept talking, never giving her enough time to think about the storm still rumbling outside.

"No, I really didn't do anything of much importance. I got up early, then I helped Komui file some papers and talked with Allen for awhile," she answered, seeing what he was trying to do. She tried to think of something to talk about as well.

"Really? That sounds like a rather active day, to me. Was the Science Department crowded today? Or were you sorting papers in Komui's office?" he kept the stream of conversation going, not pausing between his response and the next question.

"It was quite crowded, actually. I might be helping him clean one of the labs tomorrow, if I don't have anything better to do. Lenalee asked me to help the Science Department pick everything up, since I haven't had much to do recently and they don't want it getting as bad as it was at the old Head Quarters," Miranda responded, relaxing again against his side again for the first time since the last loud clap of thunder.

"That's very kind of you. It will certainly be a help to all of them, especially when work starts to pile up again," Marie smiled, glad that he could feel her relaxing against him so soon after the thunder. He could hear the rain lightening up and the thunder growing much further away, but he wanted to make sure to keep talking to her and keep her calm until the storm had passed completely. "I'm sure Lenalee appreciates you helping her brother out, as well. It really is quite sweet of you to do for them."

"Not really, I just didn't have anything better to do," Miranda shook her head quickly. "I also helped Johnny pick up his work room today, he even gave me some extra fabric and sewing supplies he had left over from a recent sewing project he had done."

"You sew? I can't say I knew that," Marie didn't know she really had any sort of crafty hobbies, as it seemed all she ever did was read or clean up around her room. He suspected her life at the Order could get quite monotonous when she wasn't on missions constantly.

"Yes, though not very well. I've never tried my hand at making anything more than little dolls. I mostly just like to fix dolls and clothing that are torn already. I just want to get back into the habit of sewing again so I can try to get better," Miranda explained. A good deal of the smaller scars on her hands were from sewing incidents, so she was just the slightest bit hesitant to begin sewing again.

"Sewing is a good hobby to have. I'm sure it will be useful," Marie said. The conversation was beginning to lag, but with the storm almost over it wasn't too crucial to keep talking. Marie easily enjoyed quiet company as well as talking.

"If I can ever get good enough to make anything useful, it will be a very good thing," she agreed, for once not degrading herself.

The two continued talking, switching between topics quite frequently, until Marie had begun to nod off and eventually fell asleep.

Miranda, not wanting to wake him up, simply stayed quite and still, smiling at how peaceful he seemed. After an hour of listening to the sound of his breathing and the sound of rain hitting the roof, Miranda began to doze off herself. She slept for a few hours and when she woke up she decided it would probably be a good idea to wake Marie up so he could go back to his room. Sleeping sitting up like that was bound to be bad for him. Sleepily, she sat up and rubbed one of her eyes before yawning and lightly shaking one of Marie's shoulder with her other hand, "Hey, Marie, wake up."

In a manner that had probably been adapted over his years as an exorcist, he was awake in seconds. He didn't startle awake, though, like some people might.

"We fell asleep in the library," Miranda explained, adding in a few apologies at the end. She was still curled up rather contently against his side, waiting for him to move his arm before she stood up. Part of her reason for staying so still was because she wanted to stay like that for a little while longer; unfortunately, if she did she would fall asleep again and she didn't want to make Marie carry her back to her room. Again.

"Thank you for waking me up," he sounded tired still, "Sleeping like this all night would have made my back hurt, I imagine." He moved his arm so she could stand up, and once she had stood he did too.

"You're welcome," Miranda was disappointed and cold when she stood up. He had been warm and comfortable and it had been extremely nice to snuggle up against him like that. But, with the storm over, she didn't really have a reason to stay like that. Even just thinking about staying there was embarrassing to her, and she wondered what had come over her, letting herself fall asleep on him like that.

"It sounds like the storm is over," Marie could no longer hear the wind or the thunder, just light rain, "That's good."

"It ended awhile ago, just after you fell asleep," Miranda explained, "I think it's kept raining since then, but I fell asleep for awhile too so I can't really say for certain if it ever stopped raining or not. I think it's still raining, though."

"Yes, it is raining right now," Marie nodded. The sound of the rain would probably be much more noticeable on the second floor where the exorcist and finders' quarters were, but from what Marie could tell it certainly wasn't raining anywhere near as hard as it had been earlier.

"This whole thing was really silly. I'm sorry you had to go out of your way, just after a mission, too, to take care of me," Miranda suddenly apologized. Her shoulders slumped a bit, and she frowned.

Marie couldn't see the way she was standing or her expression, but he could hear it in her voice. She was feeling guilty about him having to help calm her down. Offering her a small smile of reassurance, he said, "It was no problem. I enjoyed chatting with you. Please, don't think you bothered me at all. If I didn't want to help, Miranda, I wouldn't have gone to check on you when I had gotten back. And also, don't worry about the fact that I just got back from a mission, if you ask me, it was hardly a mission. More like a day trip."

Miranda wanted so badly to argue with him about how he shouldn't worry, but she knew it would only annoy him, and she couldn't think of a valid argument. It was odd, recently she had wanted, more and more often, to accept peoples' reassurance, thanks, and apologies without arguing. Most people would say she was growing more confident, but to her it just seemed like she was growing arrogant. Finally, as much as it pained her to admit she wasn't too much of a bother, she said, "I suppose you're right."

"Come on, you sound tired let's go back to our rooms," Marie, again, could tell she wasn't really happy with the course of that conversation by the tone of her voice, so he chose to end it for her. He wondered what could be bothering her, but he knew that it would probably only bother her more if he asked. With that in mind, he tried to start a bit of small talk until they got to their rooms.

Their rooms were just about a ten minute walk from the library, and when they reached the door to Miranda's room, which happened to be first from the direction they were coming, Marie said, "Good night, Miranda. Sleep well."

"Sleep well, Marie. Good night," she replied before disappearing into her room. She was ready to sleep again, after her little nap a few minutes before. It was nice, sitting and talking with Marie like that. She couldn't help but smile as she thought about how warm he had been.

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A/N: Thanks a bunch for reading, reviews are really, really appreciated. Also, guys, I am SO sorry I disappeared for so long. I had a really awful bout of writer's block, and then some stuff happened IRL that really messed with me, it's all good now, message me for more details, but it's taken a lot of work to get back into writing. I'm sorry if any of my chapters are lacking or bad, it's just that I'm trying to get back into it. For all of the reviews I got while I was gone, thank you so, so much. You all rule, I hope at least some of you are still here :)


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

A/N: This is a random, doesn't-take-place-in-Sight little Christmas special ^^

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Mistletoe-Extra Chapter

In the Order, it was more than a common occurrence for mistletoe to be hung up in every available space, if only to mess with all those who walked around. This year was no different, except that there was even more mistletoe up than normal. It made navigating the building with anyone nearly impossible. Many people had begun trying to avoid following the tradition surrounding the plant, but as usual Lavi was keep to keep them from ruining the fun he got out of teasing them.

"Oh... Not again," Miranda sighed quietly. She somehow always seemed to forget about the mistletoe hung up in the middle of the hallway, even if she had started to catch the sprigs of it above the doors.

"Let me guess, mistletoe again?" Marie confirmed his suspicion. They had been unfortunate enough to get caught under the many poorly placed plants at least three times a day for the past week. And every time they tried to dodge it, Lavi seemed to show up, nosy as ever. On occasions, even Lenalee seemed to want to tease people with the mistletoe, and not just Miranda and Marie. Lavi and Lenalee were possibly the two biggest gossipers in the European branch, and they always wanted new fuel for topics.

"Yes, it's mistletoe, again," Miranda sighed softly.

"You know, I'm really not minding this, much," Marie chuckled, "It gives me an excuse to kiss you more often."

"I wouldn't have a problem with it if everyone around here didn't get so obnoxious about it. I think they've just been waiting for _anyone _in this branch of the Order to start a relationship so they would have people to tease about these types of things. You've noticed, right?" Miranda was referring to the fact that, since almost no one was on a mission thanks to a lag in work, people seemed to be talking about the relationships other people, usually the two of them- seeing as they were the only official couple- had. Normally only the usual gossipers were bad about it, but since more and more people had been looking for people to embarrass with taunts about the mistletoe they had become definite targets.

"That's just the nature of things around here. It always has been. You should have seen the teasing when Daisya asked Lenalee out. Though, he wasn't laughing about it after Komui caught wind of what had happened," Marie was laughing, now, "And before that, there were two married finders who had had their wedding here. Everyone loved to harass them about their relationship. I couldn't believe some of the questions people asked them. But the point is, Miranda, don't let it get to you. Everyone is just teasing to take their minds off of things. If it really bothers you too badly, I can try to think of a way to help you, though."

"It's not really bothering me, mostly it's more annoying than I would like to put up with. I can get past it... probably," she at least didn't sound annoyed as she had a moment before.

"How about, for the rest of today, we ignore the mistletoe," Marie suggested. He couldn't hear anyone else nearby; chances were Lavi or Lenalee weren't lurking around to ensure people "stuck with the Christmas spirit." And if they were, they weren't doing so in that area.

"That sounds like a good idea, if we can," she nodded. Miranda really didn't mind the kissing that came with all of the mistletoe; she was just shy about public affection like that. She found it challenging just to hold his hand as they walked, let alone kiss him. She was thankful that Marie seemed to understand that. She had been raised to be shy about that sort of thing and had certainly began being shy about them.

"Do you still want to go to the library for awhile?" Marie asked her after a few moments.

"Yes, going to the library still sounds like a very good idea," she nodded and caught his hand as they walked. They spent a few hours in the library, and on their way back, were, yet again, caught under mistletoe. This time, Miranda said nothing about it. On a small whim, though, she tugged lightly at his hand to get him to stop walking. Standing up on her tiptoes, she planted a light kiss on his cheek, "There was mistletoe, again." She gave a quick explanation.

"Oh, so you don't mind it, anymore?" he teased lightly.

He was met with a stammered, almost incoherent attempt at a response.

"You're cute, did you know that?" he saved her the trouble of trying to respond. Though, he may have just served to leave her even more flustered and embarrassed.

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A/N: Happy holidays! Sorry to any of my readers who don't celebrate Christmas, I know this is probably quite annoying. I promise I have new chapters in the work!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

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Chapter 17

Miranda was more awkward around Marie than usual. It started after the evening where they had fallen asleep in the library; just the next morning she was avoiding Marie and acting far more cautious of being physically affectionate than normal. She couldn't believe she had let herself be improper enough as to fall asleep with him. It wasn't something she should have let herself do, and she knew it. She felt bad about doing so, and for her it only seemed normal to avoid him all throughout the next morning. She had, after all, promised to help clean the science department. It gave the klutzy woman a good excuse to avoid the gentle giant that was Marie.

Marie wondered if Miranda was upset with him for some reason. Normally she ate breakfast with him, but he could hear her leaving the cafeteria just as he walked in. He didn't think too much of it, though. He remembered she had said something about helping clean; he just assumed she was trying to get an early start.

They didn't run into each other for a good majority of the day. Miranda carried boxes between the science department and some of the storage rooms and had done a rather good job of clearing up the large rooms that made up the science offices by mid afternoon. She was just leaving from putting up the last box, looking forward to going to shower, when her sleeve caught on the shelf and pulled it down on top of her.

The shelf trapped her in a flurry of fallen manuals, boxes, and glass objects. It landed with most of its weight centered on her legs and just above her shoulders. Broken glass was everywhere, and she couldn't tell if she'd accidentally reopened the still healing wound on her stomach. After she had wormed a hand under her stomach and found that she wasn't bleeding, she let out a small sigh. It would probably be a few hours before anyone from the science department would think something was wrong, and she wasn't looking forward to laying there for those few hours. After she had caught her breath a bit, she gave a pathetic and undoubtedly quiet cry for help. It was hard to speak in a normal tone with the shelf on her back, shouting was all but impossible. The thought had never occurred to her, that there was someone in the Order who had good enough hearing to distinguish such a small cry. And it was the very person she felt she had to avoid.

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Marie had ended up finding a rather empty hall of the Order where he could try and remember some of the old songs he played on Noel Organon. He had meant to start practicing more, again, but hadn't gotten around to it. He had just begun picking out a small tune on the strings when he thought he heard Miranda's voice from a few hallways away. He stopped playing and listened.

Sure enough, he heard Miranda's voice, crying for help, from around the area where the storage rooms were. He was glad for his hearing; anyone else probably wouldn't have heard her. Rising to his feet, long legs carrying him fast, he arrived at the storage room he could hear her in. From the sound of her breathing he could conclude that there was something making it hard for her to breathe. Walking into the room, he walked over to where she was. It didn't take long for him to figure out that a shelf had fallen on her.

His entrance into the room had been met with an exclamation of, "Marie! I'm so glad you found me. Please, I'm stuck under a shelf. Can you help me? Oh, and be careful, there's broken glass on the floor..."

"Yes, just a moment. So, that was the crashing sound I heard?" Marie felt around for the edge of the shelf before he lifted it up and off of Miranda. She drew in a grateful breath. After the shelf was set up properly, Marie offered her a hand up. He felt her small, gloved hand take his and didn't hesitate to help lift her to her feet.

"Thank you, very much. I was afraid I would be stuck there for a few hours," she said softly. Her lungs were still aching from the weight and the disability to breathe clearly. Her shoulders and the backs of her calves hurt where the shelf's weight had been distributed. Being up on her feet again was also nice, "I was afraid I would be here until someone else realized I was gone."

"It's not a problem at all. You're not harmed, are you?" he seemed concerned for the clumsy exorcist. She was still recovering, though she had been better for awhile, from the nasty injury to her belly.

"No, I think I'll just have a few bruises. Luckily, I managed not to cut myself on any of the glass. I'm sorry I had to bother you, I ought to set to work cleaning this glass up, now. I'm sorry for falling asleep on you, last night, as well," she quickly apologized before she walked off to get a broom.

Marie could hear her heart racing as she apologized and walked off. He wondered if she thought she had done something wrong. Maybe she was trying to avoid him. The thought had crossed his mind earlier in the morning and it had left him thinking for a few moments, but he had quickly dismissed it. Miranda wasn't the type of person who would avoid someone like that, unless she felt they were mad at her. "Miranda, you don't think I'm mad at you for falling asleep on my yesterday, do you?"

"Well... Yes, I do. You should be mad, at least I think you should be," had he been able to see her, he would have seen that she had slumped her shoulders and hung her head slightly. "It was improper of me to fall asleep in such a way."

"Miranda, falling asleep like that was an innocent mistake. It's not a problem, in fact, it was nice to be able to sleep close to someone. Especially after a mission," he was smiling calmly at her. "It was nothing to worry about. Were you avoiding me because of that, all morning?"

"Uh, yes, I was," Miranda answered hesitantly. She fidgeted, playing with the edges of her gloves as she stood there. She'd yet to get the broom, otherwise she probably would have been spinning it around. She always got restless when she was nervous.

"You really don't have to worry about it. I'm not upset with you. Not at all," he couldn't help the slight chuckle that sounded deep in his chest as he spoke.

"Really?" her expression was the perfect picture of surprise. Her eyebrows had risen and her lips tugged into a little half-frown. A clear hint of surprise rang in her tone of voice, as well.

Marie liked that Miranda's emotions always sounded clearly in her voice. With many people, he felt he was missing a part of conversations because he couldn't monitor their expressions. It made him feel like she was a bit closer to him than most people. He wondered if that was one thing that had drawn him to be so fond of the woman. "I'm actually quite glad we got to spend that time together yesterday. It's rare, to get that type of physical contact. It's nice to be able to doze off beside someone, especially while hearing them read." His own pulse sped up a bit. He considered mentioning his feelings for Miranda, but he really didn't know if it was the best time for that. Miranda already seemed too awkward about the situation; he knew how easily flustered she was. He thought for a moment before decided that it wasn't the best time. He would definitely tell her soon, but not then. Not until she was acting a small bit less awkward. He wished he could tell her how glad he was that he had met her, and how happy he was that she felt safe enough around him to dose off.

"B-But it's not innocent if one of us wishes to think of the other as more than a friend," Miranda spoke so quietly that Marie barely heard her.

Had she figured him out? He didn't think she was that perceptive of other peoples' actions, but he had encountered things that were twice as surprising. A thought struck him, then, and he looked at her words from another angle. Maybe, just maybe, she was saying she cared for him in that way. Realizing he had gone silent for a few moments, he softly asked, "Miranda, do you feel that way about me?"

Another moment of silence stretched between the two of them. To Marie, and he was sure Miranda could hear it too, the only sound was Miranda's pounding heart. He was certain she could probably hear her own pulse loud and clear at the moment.

After a few more moments, the soft response came: "Yes... But I can pretend not, if it will make things awkward." Her voice shook a bit more than it normally did and it was again so soft that even Noise Marie could hardly hear it.

"There's no need for that, Miranda. I've been debating telling you," he gave a small pause, "That I feel the same way about you. I was actually afraid you didn't feel that way. You've no need to be so anxious about it."

There was the sound of her footsteps, and then she was hugging him. It was a light hug he could have easily stepped away from had he wished to, but he had no wish to. He loosely wrapped his arms around her. They exchanged no words for almost ten minutes. They just stood there in the light embrace.

Eventually Miranda's arms tightened slightly. Positive physical contact had been a rarity for her, her whole life, and now it was still something she didn't often encounter. Physical contact had been a rare thing in general. She was viewed in an indifferent, careless light and ignored most of her life. Marie allowing her to get this close for this long meant the world to her. She would never be able to properly express to him how grateful she was to him for something he probably viewed as simple.

The first to break the silence was Marie, "So, now that awkwardness is out of the way... I love you Miranda." He smiled at her, despite the slight blush on his face.

"I love you too, Marie," her voice sounded so incredibly happy. It made Marie question why he hadn't decided to tell her sooner. She nuzzled her face against his shoulder.

"Would you like to go out to town on a date, sometime?" he offered. He lightly rested his chin on the top of her head. "We could go somewhere to eat, and walk around. Maybe shop a bit." A content exhale from his nose ruffled her hair. He was happy with the situation, even if a few awkward misunderstandings had led up to it.

"Really? I would love that! I think it will be fun," she smiled at him. Neither of them were overly familiar with the town near the new Headquarters yet, so it would be a fun adventure for both of them. Neither would be bored by repeated surroundings.

"Then we'll have to see when we can get permission to go," he declared, "And once we figure that out, it'll be a date. Now, let me help you clean all of this glass up."

"You really don't have to! I was the one who broke everything. I can get it, don't worry," she assured. She seemed unsure of how to respond to his offer of help, "Besides, I don't want you accidentally cutting yourself. But, if you'll wait for a few minutes, we could spend some time together afterwards."

"That's a wonderful idea. Maybe in return for you always reading to me, I could play a song for you," Marie offered in a kind tone. He appreciated her reading to him. No one else ever had, except when it came to mandatory things, like mission briefing papers. He'd not heard the words of a book in the nine years between when he'd first been blinded and when Miranda offered to read aloud to him. It had been a surprising offer, but he genuinely appreciated it. People always seemed to think offering things like that would offend him, when really, they made him happy, because someone actually cared enough to offer him that much help. He hadn't realized how much he missed following the story line of a book or getting to know characters until she was reading to him again.

"I would love that. I don't really get to hear music very often," again, she sounded happy. Even as she was walking away to get the broom and dustpan again he could still hear the joy in her voice. "But I really love music, even if I don't hear it often."

"Maybe I could teach you to play that old piano I found, sometime. What do you think?" he offered. They both probably needed new things to do during the rare time they had nothing to do. They always seemed to be doing the same things, and Marie was the type of person who thrived on change.

"Wait, you'd really be willing to take time out of your free time to do that?" she sounded shocked. Beyond shocked. She sounded as if she were in complete disbelief that he was actually, truly offering to help her. In the back of her mind, she was still a bit afraid this was all going to be some trick. Like when she was younger and people would offer to be her friend just to see her broken when they were joking, or when people would be dared to act nice to her for a day. She was absolutely terrified this would turn out like that.

"Of course. I love spending time with you, it would be fun," he nodded. Her voice held a note of unease, and he wondered if he'd said something to upset her, "Miranda, if you don't want to go, you don't have to feel like you have to. You know that, right? It won't offend me if you don't want to go." Unknown to him, he had completely misinterpreted the cause of the unease.

"I really, really want to. Really," she assured. Oh god, he was changing his mind, wasn't he? Her thoughts went into a panicked flurry. He was going to tell her she was stupid for believing him. He would never talk to her again.

Now Marie could hear her pulse speeding up again. "Miranda, what's wrong?" Something was undeniably wrong, that much he could tell from the way she seemed to be panicking.

"You... You're not tricking me, are you? You're not just seeing how crushed I'll be, when this is all a joke?" she didn't mean to tear up, but memories of the same thing happening time and time again were all coming back. The pain that always came when she finally thought she had found a friend in her hellish little life.

For a moment, Marie was speechless. "Has someone done something like that to you before?" Miranda was such a sweet woman, he didn't understand how anyone thought it was funny to do things like that. Though, after hearing of the way she had been treated in her home village, he couldn't really doubt how she had been treated.

"Not in exactly the same ways, but it's happened before... People would ask to be friends. They would even spend time with me for a week or two to make it convincing, and every time, just when I started thinking that they were really being honest about it, they would make a fool of me in front of everyone. People would be dared to be nice to me, because I was such a nuisance," she wiped at her eyes quickly and tried to get her breathing under control. She couldn't cry. She wouldn't. But her resolve wasn't especially strong, and she was having trouble keeping her breathing even.

"Miranda, listen, I would never do something like that. People have been awful to you in the past, but I will never be like them. Ever," Marie felt for her shoulder. He gave her shoulder a light, reassuring squeeze. "I promise, this isn't a joke, no one dared me to say any of this. I love you, Miranda, honestly, I really do."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted your honesty like that," she managed to get out past shaky, jumpy breaths. It had been a long while since she had broken down like this, and she felt bed. She felt bad for him having to put up with her in such a state. Finally, she managed to calm her breathing. She had moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder again. Finally, she was breathing normally. Her stomach hurt, and she felt a bit light headed from how erratic and shallow her breathing had become for a short time.

Unsure of what else to do, Marie only reached up and ruffled her hair. He was glad she had calmed down; he had thought she was going to pass out for a few moments. After carefully thinking out his response, Marie softly whispered, "No need to apologize. I don't blame you, if people have done similar things to you, before."

"I'll try not to apologize about it, again, then," she managed a soft laugh as she wiped at her eyes.

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A/N: Thanks so much for reading! And again, I apologize for the wait!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own D. gray-ma

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Chapter 18

It was a few days before anyone caught onto the fact that Miranda and Marie were being a bit more affectionate with each other- hugging each other for a bit too long when they though people weren't looking or holding hands as they walked through the halls- but it wasn't too long before rumors began spreading around the Order. It was common for everyone to gossip in the order, and it was rare they got a topic as exciting as two exorcists in a relationship, so whispers seemed to follow the two wherever they went in the halls. At first, Miranda had been terribly flustered about it all, but after a day or two, she seemed to relax a bit.

The first to openly approach the two about their relationship was Lavi, and as with all of his comments, it was in a slightly-affectionate and very teasing manner. Miranda had been sitting beside Marie while the two were eating lunch when Lavi came a plopped into a chair across the table from them. "Heh, so I hear you two are getting pretty lovey-dovey. When's the wedding?"

As usual, Miranda wasn't able to handle the teasing well and her face went bright red, "W-We're not that obvious..." She didn't think they were. They might have hugged and held hands in the halls but it really wasn't that obvious. Or was it?

"We could be a little less obvious about it, if we didn't want people to know," Marie patted Miranda on the shoulder in a sympathetic manner. He did understand her embarrassment, in a way. He had long since grown used to similar comments from being a student under Teidoll through his years in the Order and from having grown up with several nosy younger siblings before he joined the Order.

"Don't let my teasing keep you from being all affectionate, I'm just messing around," Lavi held his hands up in a manner as if he were surrendering. "If it's bothering you too much, Miranda, I'll try to lay off on the comments like that. I'm just goofing around, trying to make people laugh."

"No, you're fine. I just need to stop getting so embarrassed about people saying things like that," Miranda assured and waved his apology away. It seemed she was as bad at accepting apologies as she was at accepting compliments. The warm, cheerful atmosphere faded when Lenalee rushed over.

"Miranda, you're being sent on an urgent mission. You'll be leaving as soon as you can, get ready and go see Komui for your mission briefing," Lenalee had dashed there all the way from the Science Division.

With the nature of Miranda's innocence, she was used to being suddenly sent on missions. There was always a sense of urgency when she had to go assist a team in a bad situation, and she was usually sent as fast as possible. "All right, thank you for telling me." It was a lot to deal with, because she always knew there were going to be people that would die because of her ability's weaknesses. She finished her food quickly and stood up. "Bye, Marie. I'll be back sometime. Stay safe until then." She hugged him, and then she was off.

"Be safe, Miranda!" he called after her.

"I will," she called over her shoulder as she hurried to get a bag packed with clothes for however long the mission may be. She generally kept a packed suitcase in her room because of the emergency missions. The mission briefing was short and simple. She was to go to assist a team on a mission that had led them into a dangerous area. They weren't in immediate danger, but to finish the mission in time they would likely need her abilities to help. The other exorcist already there was Krory. She had become friends with the other exorcist, who seemed as easily flustered and hopeless as her, on a previous mission. She hoped he was okay.

* * *

What was supposed to be a short mission lasted a week, then another week, and eventually it had lasted a month. The whole team, even after a General had been sent to help, was simply at a loss. What made it worse was that Miranda hadn't been able to contact Marie for the whole time. She had begun to feel unbearably lonely, despite being able to find more than eager conversation with many of the finders on the team, and with Krory.

Without really meaning to, she had accidentally stopped paying attention to Krory while he was in the middle of talking. He had been telling her and some of the finders about the mission he had been on before the current mission. It seemed as if he had said something to her; the expectant look he was giving her gave this fact away.

"Oh, sorry, d-did you ask me something?" she stammered. She felt bad for not paying much attention to him, but she really did miss Marie. Even had they not been in a relationship, she figured she would have felt the same way. He was just such a good friend to her that she never seemed to realize how much she would miss him if he weren't around. She was almost as attached to Lenalee; Lenalee seemed at least willing to put with her, too. Not having communicated with either of them in nearly a month was making it difficult for her to think of anything else but seeing them.

"I asked if you'd been on any interesting missions before this one," Krory didn't seem to mind having to repeat himself. He was used to having to do so, so long as he had people to be around he didn't mind. Living the first while of his life in relative isolation had taught him not to be picky about his company.

"Actually, I've not really been on many interesting missions, recently. Most of them have been false leads or situations where I was sent in to help an injured group continue fighting," her expression fell. Almost every time she went on a mission, half of the people would push themselves far too hard because of her innocence healing them and it would end with them dying the second it was released.

Everyone seemed to sense the drop in her mood, and the conversation was fast to change subjects. Already they had lost six finders from the group of nine. Miranda couldn't stop feeling unreasonably guilty about it, and that combined with the unending loneliness she was beginning to feel left her wishing she could return to the Order to rest, if only for a few days. But she didn't dare ask for such a break. She owed her current life to the Order and she had to work hard to make sure she did the job she was finally able to keep. She had stopped paying attention to the conversation again; everyone seemed to understand her silence.

"Oh, we might be going to a town where the golems will work, soon," was the first part of the conversation that Miranda tuned back into. This caught her attention and immediately her attention was piqued.

"Do you know when that will be?" Miranda asked softly, hoping she didn't disrupt too much of the conversation with asking her question.

The finder her spoke didn't seem to mind and offered her a friendly smile as she said, "In a few days, probably. It's just outside of the mountain range, and the odd sightings have started up there, now. We're going to look through the mountains on our way there. We might be able to finally get a break, if we find more."

A small smile lit up Miranda's face at this news. She really hoped Marie wasn't out on a mission when they got there. Or if he was, that Lenalee wasn't.

"It's great news, isn't it?" Krory seemed happy about the news as well. He didn't seem to have anyone he was as attached to, but they had all been suffering from the complete isolation from their home.

"It really is! It would be even better if we found the innocence and got to go home. I miss Jerry's cooking so much! Do you, Miranda?" as usual, he was friendly as ever in tone.

"Yes, nothing will ever be as good as food Jerry makes. If we get to go home I hope that some of the others are back from missions, as well," Miranda was practically beaming as she nodded her head. "Even if being without a mission for more than a week or two can be boring, I'm hoping I'll have a bit of a break. I know how lazy and selfish that must sound, though."

"Not at all. We've been out here for a long time, and with how little you've been sleeping, I think anyone in your position would want a little while to rest," Krory reassured.

"More than anything, I just want to see some of the others. Especially Marie and Lenalee," Miranda was getting too excited about the possibility of going back. She knew when it was a false lead and they had to keep looking she would just be disappointed. She couldn't help the excitement, though; a chance of rest and seeing her two favorite people was promising.

"You and Marie are close, are you not?" Krory asked. He'd not been around to catch much of the gossip, so Miranda was hopeful he wouldn't begin bugging her about it.

"Yes, actually. Quite close," she smiled. It still made her giddy to think that Marie felt the same for her as she did for him, "It's rather hard, not being able to see him. I miss him quite a bit."

"I think you two go quite well, together," Krory said. Okay, so maybe he had his suspicions about them. "He seems to make you so happy, and I think he fancies you quite a bit, too." Krory may have been oblivious to most social situations, but he had spent enough time with Eliade to be able to tell when someone else had feeling for a person.

At the comment, Miranda couldn't help going a bit red in the face and fidgeted about, "Actually, he does. He told me himself, before. It's wonderful, to know that he returns my feelings." A sheepish smile had spread across her face.

"That is wonderful! I hope you two will be able to see one another, again. It must be hard not being able to speak to him for so long," Krory could sympathize. His situation with Eliade had been far different, but it didn't mean he didn't have plenty of sympathy for the Time exorcist.

"Yes, I'm sorry if I've come by as unfriendly recently, I've just been thinking of him a lot," Miranda apologized politely, "And a few of my other friends. I've just grown rather dependent on the people I get to spend the most time with. Like Marie and Lenalee. I'm sure if we're ever around each other under other circumstances I'll be a bit better conversation than I am now. For now, though, I'm afraid I've just been too stressed."

"It's perfectly fine, you're better conversation that my old plants were," he assured her, "Though, I think anyone would be better conversation, except maybe Kanda or one of the Noah."

"I'm flattered I surpass a plant in conversation skills," Miranda couldn't help laughing. Maybe she didn't have the company of the people she would prefer to be with, but she was pretty good friends with Krory, and it was nice talking to the finders. She only hoped the finder had been right about the next town.

* * *

A/N:


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 19

The small team had indeed soon entered a town where they could contact Headquarters, but despite Miranda's attempts to contact Marie, or Lenalee, for that matter, she didn't manage to. Eventually she learned that both were on missions similar to her own, and this left her mood, which had brightened considerably, a bit down.

Time still seemed to drag on, and nothing, just like before, had been found. The mission, for everyone involved, was beginning to seem like a waste of time. It had everyone on the team in a bad mood. From the finders, to the two fledgling exorcists, to the General with them, no one seemed to want to be around the others anymore.

Another failed search only seemed to sour everyone's moods further. It continued in a similar manner for weeks, and eventually they moved out of that town and back into the mountainous area where they had been before.

Their long trudge along one of the many paths carved into the mountains was disrupted by a truly disturbing happening. The appearance of a Noah. Thankfully, Miranda no longer froze in the face of danger, and created one of Time Record's barriers with a call of, "Time Record, activate! Time Out!"

"What are you doing, putting up a barrier so early in a fight?" Sokalo demanded. As usual, he was all about a harsh, rush head-in type of fighting style.

"It's a Noah, we can't just rush into this fight!" she insisted, "At least take a moment to think of how we're going to go about this fight without putting ourselves in unnecessary danger." The barrier held strong and it looked like she wasn't going to let any of them rush into the danger without at least some amount of thought of how they could get through the fight. She couldn't let someone die again because of her abilities being too weak.

"It's the same Noah I fought in the Ark, it would help if he weren't combined..." Krory muttered under his breath. He knew now that they would have been able to at least keep him from combining if they got their guns away from them. But with the two combined into their single form, he didn't see how they could get away unharmed. He still bore the fresh scars from that battle, and he wasn't fond of the thought of being so thoroughly defeated again. Especially not now that he had actually had time to get some sort of hold on his abilities and grow more skilled at fighting.

"Do you think it might help if I left the barrier open for you two to pass through and let you go out to fight while the finders and I stayed in here, so you wouldn't have to worry about us?" as weak as such a plan make Miranda feel, she knew it was likely their best chance at getting through this fight, If her and the finders weren't things the two had to worry about looking after then they could focus their full attention on the battle.

"I don't care, I could take that punk on with my eyes closed. Now let us out of here," Sokalo had very little patience. He had eventually learned, though, that being too harsh on Miranda would do no good, he saved his worst comments for his other student.

"It's not wise to call him that to his face," Krory advised, remembering the strong reaction it had drawn in the past. "Or a monster." He normally would have seen it as stupid to worry about not upsetting his opponent, but it was for their own safety that the irrational Noah was kept with a tame temper.

"Yeah, yeah, now let us out of here," the barrier would remain impervious from both sides until Miranda let it weaken from either side. It would still hold just as well, if not even better, on the outside, when the inside was weakened to allow them to pass.

"I'll stay here as support," she gave a final nod. She expected the fight to last longer, and was ready to soon feel Time Record mending their injuries, but she was surprised when Krory called for her to put the barrier down after only a few moments. She was a bit hesitant until a similar command came from the other, as well, and she then released the Time Out ability, letting the barrier fade out of existence around them.

"What happened?" Miranda immediately asked once the barrier was put down.

"He just stopped in the middle of the battle and left. Now come on, we have more important work to do. The sooner we finish this mission the sooner we can go home," as usual, Sokalo wasn't one for chatter and was already walking in the direction they had been going before.

* * *

The news of what had occurred at the American Branch on the day they faced Jasdevi wasn't relayed to them until a few good weeks later, and it was a call from Marie that directed them to the fact.

Miranda had at first been ecstatic to hear Marie's voice relayed through her golem, but she could immediately tell something had happened. "Marie, is everything okay?"

There was a long, heavy pause, and before it was broken by words it was broken by Marie drawing a shaky breath, "Kanda died... And Allen's been arrested for treason."

"Marie... That's horrible, I don't know what to say! How is everyone dealing with this?" she could already tell from his tone of voice that he wasn't dealing with it well. She couldn't blame him. Kanda and Daisya had been like younger brothers to him, it had been bad enough for Marie when Daisya died, but losing Kanda, who she only knew the barest amounts about their relationship, must have been devastating to Marie. The most Marie had been able to tell her was that Kanda had saved his life when they first met, and he still felt he needed to repay that debt.

"Master hasn't stopped sobbing since he heard... Lenalee is devastated, she hasn't come out of her room for a few days. Everyone is trying to convince Rouvelier to let Allen go, but so far it looks like there's not going to be much anyone can do..."

"How are you doing?" Miranda asked softly. Marie was like her at times, in that he would just try to keep himself out of a conversation if his mood would make something even more negative.

"I've been better," that was the only answer she was going to get.

"Marie, I know that things have gotten bad, but promise you'll take care of yourself," Miranda said. Her tone left no room for argument, and it was dead-serious.

"I will, Miranda. I've dealt with worse than this before," Marie admitted, "It's just hard having to listen to everyone else. Having to know they're suffering just like I am."

Miranda honestly had no idea what to say. She wasn't good at comforting people, the best she could offer was a hug, or in Allen's case snacks, and a few worthless words. In this case, she could only give Marie the useless words of comfort that would be able to help no one. "We'll be back soon... If there's any way I could help cheer you up, until then or after then, I would be more than happy to."

"Just knowing you're alive is a good comfort," Marie had been worried, after he was told no one had made contact with them for a few weeks. "But I'm afraid there's really not much you can do for me. Having someone else to talk to when you get back might be a bit of a help."

"I'm sorry I can't help you more," she apologized softly. He had always done so much for her in her worst moments, and now in his lowest time she couldn't do anything to help him.

"Don't apologize, Miranda. This is something that only time can help with. I've learned to be resilient, though. It's just... a bit more difficult, this time," he assured. "Just make sure you come home safe."

"I will. The mission is going to be declared a false alarm by tomorrow, if we don't find anything. I'll see you soon. Remember to eat something, and try to sleep, if you can," now it was her turn to remind him to look after himself, as opposed to how it normally was, with her needing the reminders and coaxing.

"I will remember, don't worry. Take care of yourself, too," he was about to hang up, but Miranda said something else.

"Maybe I can buy a book, while I'm here. Something happy, that I can read to you, sometime, when you're feeling up to it," she suggested.

Marie made a small, appreciative sound, "I like that idea. I'll talk to you again, soon."

"I'll talk to you soon. I love you, Marie," and with that, their call was ended.

Her relaying the information about Kanda and Allen to the rest of the team earned shocked responses from most of the finders, but it brought almost no reaction from General Sokalo.

"You're sure it's Allen that's been arrested?" Krory and Miranda both had soft spots for him, seeing as the boy had pulled both of them from the darkest times of their lives and convinced both of them to keep moving. It was no wonder Krory would be so shocked and visibly upset over that fact.

"Yes... Marie didn't tell me the specifics of the situation but I'm sure it has something to do with the Fourteenth," she replied in a faint voice. "We can find out more when we go back."

"Don't you two go getting all emotional on me, again. Man up, both of you," Sokalo disliked how emotional each of them could get.

"Yes sir," the response didn't hold the normal, immediate, urgent response it normally did. It sounded dejected and in Miranda's case almost tearful.

"Jeez, what'd I do to get stuck with you two. At least you're not stuck with that spineless Teidoll," Sokalo grumbled, "We're going to look around this town once more and see if we can't find anything."

* * *

The mission had been for nothing, and the small team returned empty handed. The Order was far quieter than it had been before, and for Miranda is was almost painful to get back. She was used to there being people who would cheerfully greet them. She would find out soon enough that not only had Kanda been killed and Allen imprisoned, but Lavi and Bookman had disappeared, and Chaozii had been infected with some kind of parasite that left him barely clinging to life.

The halls were nearly empty. All of the finders that could be spared were out scouting for innocence, in the place of the exorcists. After Miranda filed her mission report, she went to Marie's room. She wanted to make sure he was okay. He had sounded so broken, then few days before when they had talked. She got to his room, and uncertainly knocked on the door. It was a soft sound, but she was sure he would hear it. Her purpose for knocking so softly was to avoid waking him, if he had fallen asleep.

She was about to decide that was what had happened after two minutes without a response, but as she turned to walk back to her own room, the door to his room opened.

"Miranda, is that you?" Marie's headphones sat forgotten on the nightstand beside his bed. When there were any especially devastating events at the Order, he tended to abandon his headphones until everyone had calmed down. He couldn't bear to hear the other exorcists crying or in pain, he felt, even if he didn't mean to listen to their mourning, it was an invasion of their privacy.

"Uh, yes... Uh, how- I was wondering... Are you- How are you holding up?" Miranda knew asking if he was okay would be foolish, how could he be? Her struggle for words was quiet. The whole Order was too quiet. Usually there would be sounds of talking and shouting from the cafeteria. She supposed, with the three main culprits of such shenanigans gone, it wouldn't be as noisy, anymore. That thought made her stomach feel as if it had dropped.

She had to fight back her own tears as she was pulled into a tight hug by Marie. He craned his neck awkwardly to bury his face against her shoulder, and he it seemed he was crying again, too.

Marie eventually managed to stop his tears and take a few deep breaths. He stayed as he was, though.

Miranda said nothing, she only rubbed his back and blinked away her own tears. Things would be so different around the Order, now. They would also be much busier, too. That fact was hardly on her mind, though. All she could think about was how much she wished she could do something, say something, to help Marie.

Finally, the silence was broken, "Thank you for coming back safely."

"You're welcome, I'll do my best to continue coming back safe for you, if you promise the same," Miranda's words were gentle and soft and she continued rubbing his back soothingly.

They remained like that, still, for a good ten minutes. Finally, Marie forced himself to withdraw slightly. It were as if he had forcibly dragged himself away from the comforting embrace. It was odd, how quickly roles could change. He couldn't help a small, broken chuckle escaping his lips as he remembered the last time they had hugged one another like that. He had been trying to console her.

After a hesitant pause, Miranda asked, "Is something funny?"

"Just... How roles have switched so fast..." the tone of his voice held no energy. It was as if he was forcing each word forth, and only barely pushing them past exhausted lips.

"I suppose it is, in an odd sort of way. You sound exhausted, have you been able to sleep, recently?" her voice mirrored her expression, a troubled one with eyebrows drawn together and lips tugged down in a fretful frown.

"I'm afraid not, though I have tried, if that counts for anything. It's just hard for my thoughts to settle long enough for me to sleep, right now," he explained. He had expected the question, and the inevitable question about whether he had eaten recently, too. He was at least able to say he had eaten in the past day.

"Is that a problem you have often?" she was well aware that his current circumstances might have been a cause for the insomnia, but if it wasn't a problem he had faced in the past she might be able to offer a few helpful tips.

"Only at times like this, it will pass, though," his words still sounded labored because of his exhaustion.

Miranda couldn't imagine how he must feel at that moment. He looked like he had cried a good deal in the past few days, and he sounded like it, too. That much crying would leave anyone emotionally and physically exhausted; being unable to sleep certainly wouldn't help. She almost didn't catch him speaking because she was so caught up in her thoughts.

"Would... Would you mind reading to me, if we went to the library? I know you just got back from a long mission, but it would mean a lot," he sounded like he felt guilty for asking that much of her.

"I wouldn't mind at all," she said softly. She lightly took his hand and started walking towards the library. Remembering the night of the thunderstorm, it seemed so long ago, now, she wondered if he felt as guilty about requesting her company as she had felt then. The library was empty and quiet. The air was cold and the fireplace looked as if it hadn't been touched since the last time they had been there.

Miranda led him to one of the couches, "Here, stay here. It's a bit hard to read without enough light." She knew where the light switch was, and quickly returned to his side once she had switched it on. She settled down beside him, and reminded him of where they had been last time in their book. She kept her voice soothing and quiet.

Marie was grateful for her reading; having the single sound of her voice to focus on helped drown everything else out, and having her there was comforting all on its own. Maybe it was because she didn't seem quite as crushed as everyone else. Yes, Miranda seemed sad, terribly sad, about what had happened, but she wasn't completely devastated as everyone else was. Just having someone who he didn't need to worry about as much was comforting to Marie. Soon, with his thoughts now brought simply to her voice, Marie managed to fall asleep.

Miranda glanced over when she heard Marie snoring softly, and she carefully marked the page she was on in the book. She got up as carefully as she could, so as not to disturb him, and then she proceeded to get a blanket and lay it over him. She sat back down in her place. Occasionally she would glance over at Marie to make sure he was sleeping. After awhile, she, too, fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Look, I actually updated within reasonable time!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 20

Miranda awoke with a graceless thump and a drowsy grumble when she rolled off of the narrow couch. She had a terrible crick in her neck, but she smiled nonetheless when she saw that Marie was still sleeping. A glance at the old clock on the wall near the door told her it was sometime in the middle of the night. They must have slept for a few hours already, then. A yawn escaped Miranda lips and she stood up. She rubbed at her neck and wondered how she had managed to fall asleep sitting up in such an uncomfortable way.

She made her way to another couch, one of five or six in the library, and made herself comfortable. Laying down managed to relax her neck and it popped. With that unpleasant knot gone, she managed to find sleep again.

* * *

Miranda awoke before Marie, again, in the morning. It was almost seven in the morning and Miranda knew she wouldn't be falling asleep again. Making the best of her time until Marie woke up she picked up a book and began reading.

She was hesitant to wake Marie, but she didn't want to leave him. She still didn't fully trust that he was okay and she wanted to assure herself for just a bit longer that he was doing as well, for the situation, as he claimed. She also just didn't want to leave the library. She didn't want to see any of the others looking as broken, and possibly more so, than Marie. Allen's imprisonment made her sad, but almost more than anything it made her angry. Allen had saved her, he would never hurt anyone, and he had proved it time and time again. She hadn't known Kanda well, and from her brief encounters with him, she hadn't been that fond of him but she did know that he meant a lot to Marie and to Lenalee. Lavi had always gone out of his way to make sure she was okay; from cheering her up with jokes to telling her helpful ways to cope with bad situations. The three of them disappearing left the Order feeling empty.

Everyone was silent and there wasn't the normal, comforting chaos that the three interacting caused. The Order hardly felt like a home, a safe haven, to her anymore. She wished she could do something to help everyone cheer up, but the chances of that were slim at best.

She had been so occupied with these thoughts that she hadn't noticed Marie wake up until his foot brushed her leg. She had settled opposite of him on the couch while reading and had kept her legs tucked under herself. Marie had been laying in a slightly different fashion across from her.

"Good morning, Marie," Miranda greeted softly. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did. Did you?" he had sat up to sit a bit more comfortably on the couch. His feet rested against the side of Miranda's leg, now.

"Yes, I did too. I'm very glad to hear that you managed to get a bit of good sleep," Miranda smiled. She rested her hand on Marie's toes because they were cold, only to find that it did little good. Her hands were just as frigid. "We should bring some blankets with us next time we come here in case we fall asleep, again." The conversation was a nice little break from reality. Marie didn't sound quite as distraught.

"Yes, I can feel how cold your fingers are, even through your gloves," Marie said. Maybe, had times been different, a small smile might have tugged at his lips. He sat up and reached out until his fingers closed around one of her hands. He pulled her to sit up, as well, and took her other hand. He held both of her hands between his hands, which were much warmer than his feet.

"My hands are just usually like that," Miranda stammered. Despite how close they had gotten she was not usually this close to him and it seemed to leave her a bit flustered. "Even when it's warm out my hands stay chilly."

"I had noticed that," Marie said. "Perhaps it is because your arms are so thin. Maybe circulation has something to do with it."

"I don't really know, but your hands are very warm. It's nice," Miranda smiled slightly and uncurled her fingers. "My hands are usually so cold that they go numb. My toes, too."

"I'll just have to hold your hands more to warm them up," he offered the barest of smiles, "I'm not sure if I can help with your toes, though."

It was wonderful to see even such a small smile on Marie's face. Miranda knew that it wouldn't last; she knew nothing could make things better that quickly after what Marie had lost. She knew, but it still made her happy to see the smile on Marie's face. "I think I like that idea. I like holding your hands. You know, the weather has been very clear recently. Perhaps we could go outside and read for awhile, sometime."

"Maybe some other time," Marie said. His voice sounded truly exhausted. It was a feeling Miranda understood, though not from losing a person she knew but simply from losing hope or a job, and she knew it best to give him a bit of time.

"All right. I at least expect you to eat today, though," she wouldn't be as lenient about making sure he was eating and resting properly.

"I will, don't worry," Marie promised. He gave her hands a light squeeze of reassurance. He appreciated her concern. It was nice to see someone who at least wasn't completely shattered by what had happened in the past few months. It was especially good to have someone who was willing to worry about and try to care for others. "You know, Miranda, if it isn't too hard for you, you should try talking to Lenalee. She needs someone to talk to, at least to take her mind off of things."

"I wouldn't mind, but I'm going to make sure you're taking care of yourself first. I might try to check in on General Tiedoll, as well. I know he was close to Kanda. It might not be my place to comfort him since I don't know him. What do you think?" Miranda asked softly.

"I think they would both appreciate your concern, Miranda. I appreciate your concern, too. It means more than you would know," he sighed, "Thank you for worrying about everyone. I'm sorry that you have to."

"You don't have apologize, Marie. This is a horrible time, if I can help anyone, I don't mind if I have to go a bit out of my way to do so. I just wish I could do something more to help everyone," she assured, "Now, come on, you need to eat. Jerry is usually awake by now."

"Don't worry, I will. Just give me a few more minutes to wake," in all actuality he was plenty awake, he just wanted to have an excuse to be lazy and be close to someone.

She nodded for a moment, forgetting herself, then quickly said, "All right. Just so long as you eat today."

After a few minutes he was finally ready to get up. They stood and put the room back in order. Miranda walked to the door and held it open until he had walked through, then she followed closely after him.

Once they reached the cafeteria, they both ordered food. Jerry seemed a bit distraught, as well. It must have been saddening, no longer making mass quantities of food for Allen. After Marie had ordered his food and got it, Miranda told him to go find somewhere to sit and that she would join him soon.

"Jerry, would it be okay if I came and helped in the kitchen for awhile, later? I could do dishes, or help cook smaller things," Miranda offered. She really was going to try and cheer up everyone that she could. "A-And... If it wouldn't trouble you too much, could I maybe bake something in here sometime soon, too?"

"Sure, hun. I would appreciate a bit of help. It's always nice to have a bit of the work load lightened up," his tone was vaguely less jovial than normal.

"I'll come by sometime this afternoon, then," she smiled. After that, she ordered her own food. When it was ready she went to join Marie. It seemed he was eating his food and not just moving it around the plate. "I think I will be going to check on Lenalee after I finish eating. Will you be okay on your own while I do that?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. I will probably go to my room when you do. I might try to sleep for awhile more; I didn't realize how tired I was until I actually slept," his words were truthful. He didn't know if he would be able to sleep but he would try to.

"That's good. I'll check on you this evening, sometime," Miranda couldn't help another small smile. It was a little bit of progress from the day before. Marie was resilient, very resilient, so Miranda knew that she didn't need to be quite so worried about him. She couldn't help it, though. Worrying for everyone seemed like the right thing to do, despite how quickly they were all able to bounce back from tragedy.

"You don't have to, if you find you don't have the time. Remember to look after yourself, too," Marie reminded, "I wouldn't mind if you wanted to come to me later, though. Just don't feel as if you have to."

"I know, but I should have time," Miranda smiled softly, "Sleep well, if you do end up trying to sleep. I'm going to go check on Lenalee, now."

"Thank you. I will see you later, maybe this evening," he nodded.

* * *

Miranda gently knocked on the door to Lenalee's room. She didn't know how she would find Lenalee; it made her nervous.

The door was answered by a puffy-eyed, splotchy-faced Lenalee. Her voice was congested and it was clear she had been crying a lot, "Oh, you're back, Miranda..."

"Yes, I-I came to check on you," Miranda couldn't help a pang of hurt at seeing the other so broken. "I was worried that you might not have been eating or sleeping properly."

Lenalee stared blankly at her for a moment before she responded in a despondent tone, "I'm fine."

"Have you eaten today?" Miranda was quickly beginning to feel as if she would be unable to help cheer the other up in the slightest. Just hearing Lenalee's tone and seeing the look in her eyes made her feel as if she couldn't properly respond without making things worse or seeming insensitive.

"No," Lenalee mumbled, "But I don't want to go to the cafeteria. It's too empty without everyone." Hot tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes as she said these words. her voice became thick and cracked as she fought down the lump of painful tears in her throat.

"Will you eat if I bring you something?" Miranda asked softly.

"I don't know if I can. My stomach hurts," Lenalee wiped at her eyes. There were raw spots on her cheeks where she had spent too long rubbing at tears.

"Will you try?" Miranda kept her tone gentle and soft.

Lenalee gave a halfhearted shrug. Her tears were still coming heavily and she took a shuddering breath. It seemed it was a futile attempt to calm herself.

"Would you rather I stay here with you?" Miranda inquired. She kept her voice soft and calming the entire time that she was speaking to Lenalee.

Lenalee nodded. She'd hardly had an appetite since she heard about what had happened.

"May I come in?" Miranda didn't know if Lenalee was as easily humiliated about crying as she was, but if she were Miranda didn't want her feeling foolish for crying in the halls.

Lenalee's response was dulled and belated, but she did nod affirmatively in the end. She slowly walked back into her room enough to open the door and let Miranda follow. She barely made it to the edge of her bed before she let her legs buckle under herself. She hit the blanketed mattress with a soft thump and didn't sit up for a few long moments.

Miranda chose to sit beside Lenalee and rest a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Is there anything at all I can do to make things easier on you?"

Lenalee shook her head again. Her head and throat hurt too badly for her to speak much. The crying had begin to take a physical toll on her body, from her eyes stinging so badly she could hardly keep them open to the constant, pounding ache in her head.

Miranda simply sat there and rubbed Lenalee's shoulder while she sobbed. When Lenalee had calmed down a bit more, Miranda softly offered, "Would you like me to take you to the infirmary? I assume your head is hurting, and you could get some eye drops. Maybe an ice pack to help cool your face down."

"That does sound nice..." the closest to a mother Lenalee had ever had was the Head Nurse. She disliked going to the infirmary for no reason because it made her feel like she was disrupting the Head Nurse.

"I would offer to carry you, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be strong enough to do so," Miranda tried to joke a small bit. It didn't have much of an affect, though, so she could only help Lenalee sit up. She made sure to walk close to Lenalee until they reached the medical wing. The younger woman seemed unsteady on her feet and exhausted.

Upon reaching the infirmary, Miranda helped Lenalee sit down on one of the beds and went to find the Head Nurse.

"Good afternoon, Miranda," the elderly nurse greeted Miranda in a friendly tone, "Did you cut yourself again?"

"No, I'm fine. I actually brought Lenalee here," Miranda shook her head, "She's been crying a lot, because of what happened, and it's given her a terrible headache. Could you give her something for it? And she might need some eye drops, too. Her eyes are beginning to look quite dry."

"Of course," the old woman moved surprisingly fast as she went and found what she figured she would need, "Thank you for bringing her in. Lenalee can be a bit stubborn about getting help when she's mourning like this. What made you think to bring her here?" It was a question she couldn't help asking, so she could make sure Lenalee hadn't been doing anything drastic.

"I've been checking on a few of the other exorcists to make sure that they're not doing too poorly. I was worried about her, and I could tell she was beginning to feel even worse. Do you think I should go get her some cool water from the cafeteria?"

"That would likely be a good idea. If it's like that last time something like this happened then she probably hasn't drank anything for a few days. If you could get a small bit of bland food, too, I'll try to get her to eat," the Head Nurse had been the one get Lenalee into her best health during the time that Komui had been absent from the Order. Ever since those years, the elderly woman had held Lenalee in a special place in her heart.

"All right, I will try to be quick about it," Miranda nodded before she left to go to the cafeteria. Thankfully she didn't have to take too long staying there or walking there or back. When she got back the Head Nurse was carefully dripping eye drops into Lenalee's bloodshot eyes.

Miranda carefully set the glass of water and small bowl of food that she had brought down on the table beside the bed. After a few minutes, the Head Nurse told her that she would keep an eye on Lenalee for the time being, if Miranda wanted to go do something else. Miranda decided she would help Jerry before she went to check on General Tiedoll. That was what she was the most anxious about. She hardly ever spoke to him, but she wanted to make sure that he was okay too.

* * *

Helping in the kitchen had been exhausting for Miranda, as she spent the whole time stressed about trying to avoid dropping plates or breaking things and making Jerry's job even harder. Thankfully, by the end of her time helping him, she not only managed to avoid dropping and breaking anything but had also gotten all of the dishes in the overflowing sink washed and put away.

"Thanks for the help, hun. It's appreciated, feel free to come help anytime you want," Jerry seemed a bit more upbeat now. He had spent the while time Miranda was there jabbering away, though Miranda had only caught half of the things that he said.

"I'm glad I could help. I'll try to come back as often as I can," Miranda offered a slight smile. She got some food for herself and ate before she set off to check on Tiedoll. She had decided the next day she would see how all of the scientists were doing. She thought that maybe, since Lenalee hadn't been taking them coffee like usual, she could try to take them some coffee. A thought had also occurred to her to try and help file some paper work.

The walk to Tiedoll's room was short. Despite his room hardly being occupied, it was one of the closest to the cafeteria in the new Head Quarters. She knew he was there, though, because at the moment it couldn't be risked letting Generals stray too far from safety. Despite them being the strongest, there was still a strong sense of paranoia from the attack by the level four akuma on the previous building. There was now always at least one General present, if not more.

With trembling knees and no small amount of anxiety, what if she interrupted his grieving? What if he found her offered help to be unwelcome? After all, she hardly knew him, and she had never spoken to Kanda. Marie had said that it would be appreciated, though, and she really did want to help. Finally, Miranda gently rapped her knuckles against the door.

The door was answered within a few seconds, as if the General had been sitting near the door. "Oh, Miranda, do you need something?" Compared to Marie and Lenalee he appeared far better off. His eyes were a little red, but for the most part he seemed to be okay.

"I just came to check on you. I know that Marie, Lenalee, and you were rather close to Kanda. I know it's probably not my place to worry, but I wanted to make sure everyone would be okay. I'm sorry to have bothered you," the panicked apology slipped out without her meaning for it to. The words rushed out one after another and seemed to bump into each other, as if they would have been a train wreck were they written out somewhere.

"No need to apologize. It's sweet of you to try and help everyone. You needn't worry about me, though. I'm afraid I've grown used to things like this, a good cry is all that can help me. Besides, I'm sure Yuu-kun will be back eventually, he's stubborn enough that I don't think he would simply leave like that until he's found a way to slap the Order in the face for the trouble he has been caused," Tiedoll waited until she had finished apologizing before he responded with this. His tone was kind, and it made Miranda feel as if she really hadn't troubled him.

"I'm glad you're able to handle things like this well," she really hadn't any other clue how to respond.

"I wouldn't say I, or anyone else, can handle these situations well. Some people can just grow used to them and make them seem less painful. I sometimes wish Marie were able to, though sometimes I question if the guilt of not feeling as crushed as you originally would have is worth it. I'm sorry, I'm boring you, aren't I?" he cut himself off before he could get too lost in his own absent ramblings.

"No, you weren't boring me at all!" Miranda quickly assured, "I should probably go check on Marie, now. I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"You've no need to apologize, I appreciate this. Thank you for looking after Ma-kun for me," Tiedoll offered her a smile, "If you ever need to talk about anything, you wouldn't be bothering me."

"Thank you very much, General Tiedoll," she gave a respectful nod before she took her leave to go check on Marie.

She walked past her own door and almost knocked on Marie's door. She stopped, though, when she heard Noel Organon's music. She had never heard him play it, before, and it was a surprisingly graceful sound. The music was sad, though, as if it were to see the three lost exorcists of to any type of afterlife there was. Miranda didn't wish to disturb him, so she returned to her room. She meant to wait until he had finished playing, but the sound of the music through the wall and having been walking about all day left her tired. It wasn't long before she dozed off.

* * *

A/N: Thanks a bunch for reading! :D Sorry if there are mistakes in the second half of this, I got a bit lazy while proofing. Speaking of! If any of you lovely readers would be willing to proof read this I would be super, super grateful! I just don't have the energy to write AND proof read if I want to keep up with school. It means so much to me that you all are reading this! I really appreciate hearing back from you all about this!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 21

Marie had stayed awake playing Noel Organon all night, if only to keep his mind occupied. By the time he decided it was time to at least lay down and maybe try to rest for awhile his finger tips were raw and bloody. It was difficult playing with two fingers missing. It came to his mind that he hadn't played since he had lost those fingers. He briefly wondered why Miranda had never come by; he had been looking forward to having some company. Reasonably, she had needed a rest for herself after she had worked so hard to comfort everyone.

Being careful to avoid brushing his fingers over anything and making them even more raw, he finally settled down.

Marie had easily discovered, after his eyes had been injured, that sleeping was difficult without being able to see if it was light or dark. He could lie awake some nights and not be able to fall asleep, and he could fall asleep the second his head hit the pillow on other nights. Recent events made sleeping no easier.

Even without his headphones sounds were an easy distraction. His own breathing always sounded magnified, not to mention the sound of people in the rooms near his. Pulses were also a disturbance on nights when he couldn't sleep. People walking down hallways away from his room sounded as if they were walking right outside of his door.

That night all of those sounds seemed to combine into the most unbearable combination. He wanted to start playing again to find a single sound to focus on, but he was afraid that just wasn't a possibility with the state he had left his hands in from playing for so long on end.

An hour of fruitless turning and he finally decided it was time to get up. The hallways were empty but far from silent for him. The cafeteria was a bit better, seeing as it was far from most of the bedrooms and offices of the Order. He knew Jerry was likely asleep, so he didn't bother him as he got a bowl and filled it with cold water. He soaked his fingers in the cool water, hoping to keep the raw areas from getting too severe. Almost every exorcist knew their way around the kitchen, and Jerry made sure to leave it the same for Marie's sake.

Someone coming in for a late night snack or getting food after returning late from a mission and not wanting to disrupt Jerry wasn't out of place and Marie was no different.

Marie was enjoying the silence of the room when he heard the door open. Without his headphones he couldn't hear the person's heart rate from across the room, but he could tell that it wasn't someone he was completely familiar with by their footsteps. He sat silently and simply continued to soak his fingers in the cold water. He only responded to anything when he heard quiet cursing from the kitchen, followed by a loud crash.

The loud, harsh noise of something falling over caused him to flinch for a moment, but he now knew who it was in the kitchen. Timothy. Marie was hit with a wave of nostalgia as he realized that, when Kanda first came to the European Branch, he sounded a lot like Timothy. They were both rather similar, he couldn't help thinking.

Not wanting Timothy to hurt himself Marie walked into the kitchen, "Timothy, do you need help with something?"

Ever the independent nine year old, Timothy quickly responded with, "No, I'm not some dumb little kid!" This was followed by the sound of him accidentally dropping something else.

"You're going to break something or hurt yourself. What do you need?" Marie could tell, from the tone of Timothy's voice, that the child had stuck his tongue out at him.

"Nothing, I'm just getting a snack," Timothy continued to stubbornly refuse the help.

"Just remember what happens to people who break things in the kitchen," there was no repercussions, but it was a good way to get stubborn people, like Timothy, or Kanda when he was younger, to accept help.

"Wait, what happens?" Timothy asked. His voice had that small, hidden tone of fear he always tried to hide.

"It's best that you don't know," Marie gave a shrug.

"Tell me, tell me!" Timothy demanded.

"You'll have to clean it up," Marie kept his serious tone and expression, as if that was the terrible punishment he had mentioned before.

"Really? That's all?" Timothy gave him an incredulous look. He was about to go back to trying to get whatever it was he wanted when Marie spoke again.

"I don't want to hear anything else fall, why don't you let me help you so you don't have to mess with any broken glass?"

"Fine, I'm trying to reach the bowls," they were a bit of a reach for even Marie, it was no surprise that someone as small as Timothy would have trouble. "I can't reach the ice cream in the freezer, either."

"Are you supposed to be eating ice cream this late?" Marie wouldn't tell that he was sneaking snacks, he just wanted to know if he was helping him with something he shouldn't be doing.

"Not really, Emilia says it'll make me sick, but it never has before," he pouted. When Marie got the large canister from the ice cream maker out of the freezer, Timothy snatched it and scampered over to the counter across the room. There had been ice cream sitting around ever since Timothy had shown up; Marie, it appeared, wasn't the only person who was helping him with his little snack raids.

"If you eat too much, it might. Just don't eat more than one bowl at night," he said.

"You're bossy. Almost as annoying as Emilia," of course that wasn't really how Timothy thought of Emilia, but he had dignity to protect.

"That's not very nice, now is it?" he hummed softly and closed the cabinet that the bowls had been in. Once Timothy had gotten his ice cream and ran into the cafeteria to eat, Marie put the remaining ice cream back and went back to continue soaking his fingers in the cold water. They were beginning to feel a little bit better.

"Why are you up this late?" Timothy asked after a little while. It seemed he was talkative, as usual. The child just couldn't stand silence.

"I couldn't sleep. There were too many sounds keeping me awake," Marie answered simply. He didn't want to mention how poorly everyone was doing to Timothy; it was best to let the child be peacefully oblivious.

"Even without those headphone things?" Timothy asked. He didn't comment on Marie's current lack of the headphones.

"Yes, even without them, things can be overwhelming," Marie nodded, "Most nights I can ignore it, but sometimes it's too difficult to ignore everything or block it out."

"It's good that you can usually ignore it. Why can't you tonight?" Timothy asked with a mouth full of ice cream.

"I just have too much I'm thinking about," Marie explained with a soft sigh, "I'm sorry to seem abrupt, but could we possibly talk about something else?"

"Sure," Timothy had finished his ice cream, "Actually, I'm going back to sleep. Hope you can sleep soon, too. If you don't sleep enough Emilia might start griping at you about not being responsible."

"I'll be sure to get enough sleep. Sleep well, yourself, Timothy," Marie enjoyed the silence of the cafeteria after he had left. The sounds were a little less concentrated now that there weren't occupied rooms on every side of him. The library was much more quiet, but he didn't particularly want to go all the way there. Besides, if he overslept in there he might worry Miranda if she couldn't find him. He didn't want to put her through that stress.

Eventually, Marie rested his head on the table. He felt insecure without his headphones, as if they had become some type of shield for him. Despite that feeling of vulnerability, he managed to fall asleep. It was a restless sleep, though, and it was plagued with half-dreams that left him feeling even more drained when he was accidentally awoken by a cup of coffee being set on the table near him.

He lifted his head off of the table and took a moment to focus. Soon he was able to tell the person who had set the cup down, it had been obvious she was trying to be quiet and not wake him, was Miranda.

"Sorry," she whispered quietly, "I-I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just going to leave that there for you whenever you woke up. Do you want me to get you anything else?"

"No, thank you, though," he replied drowsily. His thoughts were sluggish in coming, at the moment. He was still half asleep.

Miranda sat beside him. "You didn't look like you were sleeping very well," she said softly. Her own voice was tired. "And your fingers look like they hurt. How long did you play, last night?"

"I only played for a few hours. It's just been awhile since I did that. My fingers aren't bleeding, are they?" if he really tried, he would be able to tell. He just didn't want to put forth that effort.

"No, they're just raw. Do you want me to go get you something to put on them from the medical wing?" she carefully moved his hand from the bowl of water. It was no longer cold, just causing his finger tips to wrinkle. She set his hand on the table.

"No, if it gets too bothersome I can go get them looked at. It should be fine, I've done this before," he assured. He carefully caught one of her hands and held it. "Thank you for worrying about me so much. It means a lot to know I have someone who cares enough to go so out of their way to make sure that I'm doing well. Just make sure to care for yourself, too."

"I will, don't worry," she assured softly. She leaned against him, "Do you feel like you could eat anything? I might get up and make myself some breakfast, since Jerry isn't up yet."

"I'm not hungry. I'll wait for him to wake up. Do you know what time it is?" it must have been early for Jerry to still be sleeping.

"Oh, maybe four thirty. It will probably be awhile before anyone is awake. Marie, why were you sleeping in here?" Miranda seemed to be as concerned about him as always, or as had become usual over the past few days.

"I needed somewhere quiet. I figured you might panic if I fell asleep in the library and you didn't think to look there," he answered. And he was just as worried for her as always, too.

"You should have just gone to the library, then," she felt bad that he had stayed in there to avoid worrying her.

"I wouldn't have slept much better in there than I did in here," he explained, "It wouldn't have done much good, if I had. I will next time, though, if I think it might help."

"You should. Sleep is important," those words of wisdom were coming from an insomniac who seemed to have trouble finding sleep herself, most nights. "If you can't sleep, though, maybe we can stay up together. It's lonely when it seems the rest of the world is asleep. Maybe not even to talk, but just know that someone else is awake."

"That sounds nice," Marie nodded slightly. "I will consider it, next time." He gave a tired sigh and moved his hand across the table until it hit the cup of coffee. He picked it up and took a small sip.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading!


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 22

Miranda's gentle suggestion of spending sleepless nights together was soon acted upon. Marie was unable to sleep, yet again, and had heard Miranda tossing and turning throughout the night. Her pulse assured him that she wasn't asleep, yet. Marie had been hesitant, at first, to disturb Miranda, but eventually decided that it would probably do both of them some good to not spend the night laying awake with nothing to do but hopelessly roll over.

He made his way quietly to her door, and knocked softly.

He was greeted by a tired sound, and soon the door was opened. "Oh, hello, Marie. Sorry, did I wake you up with all of my tossing and turning?"

"No, I couldn't sleep. Would you like to go to the library?" Marie offered in a soft voice. It would do no good if they woke someone else in their sleeplessness.

"Yes, that sounds nice," Miranda agreed quietly, "Hold on, let me go get shoes on." As clean as the halls were, no one trusted the cleanliness and lack of sharp things like rocks or glass carried in on shoes enough to go barefoot in the halls of the Order. She slipped on a pair of flats she often wore around the Order when she wasn't in uniform. With a yawn, she followed Marie to the library. She held his hand as they walked. When they got to the library, Marie held the door open for her.

Miranda thanked him softly and walked in. They both settled on the usual couch that they occupied during their reading times. In a soft voice, Miranda asked, "Would you like me to read to you?"

"No, let's just stay like this," Marie declined softly. His arm was gently wrapped around her waist and her head rested against her shoulder. After a few moments, he said, "Would you like to hear a song? Perhaps it will help you sleep."

"Oh, you really don't have to! Your fingers are still so swollen from playing so much, the other night," Miranda said. She wanted to hear him play again, sometime, but not when the tips of his fingers were still raw, swollen, and red.

"I've grown used to playing like this. It won't trouble me. Are you sure?" he wanted to try and help her sleep. He knew plenty of songs that often lulled people to sleep very quickly.

Miranda hesitated a moment, "If it really won't hurt your hands to play more, then I would love to hear something..." She could hear his steady breathing and pulse the way her ear was pressed to his chest.

"Of course," he offered the barest hint of a smile. He anchored the strings of Noel Organon to the floor of the library, and gently began to strum out a quiet rhythm. It was a melodic tune that had a lullaby-quality to it. Soon, he began adding soft, barely audible words to it.

Miranda could feel Marie's chest vibrate softly with his words and hear the way his pulse and his breathing mixed in with the music. Despite her previous sleeplessness, she could feel her eyes drifting shut. She matched her breathing to his, and the slow breaths served to make her feel even more drowsy. It was a nice feeling, finally being able to feel herself fall asleep.

Once Miranda had fallen asleep, Marie carefully moved to lay down, with Miranda laying against his chest. It would be far less painful for both of them to sleep that way, than the way that they had been. The quiet of the library proved to allow his brain some calm. The only sounds were his own breathing, Miranda's breathing, and their pulses. it wasn't an overwhelming mix, like the sounds of everyone in surrounding rooms.

Focusing in on the sounds Miranda made helped him begin to doze. He should have thought to go to the library when he couldn't sleep more often. These thoughts barely had time to drift through his thoughts before he as falling asleep completely.

* * *

Miranda took a few long moments to wake up, before she began registering she was in the library. She stayed still as soon as she realized she was laying on top of Marie. It just wouldn't do to wake him. She glanced at the clock across the room. She could barely make out the hands through the darkness, but they had only been asleep for an hour or two. It was morning, though.

The door to the library barely opened, and a finder poked his head in. He became quite flustered about interrupting the two, whatever it was they were doing, but he said, "Miss Exorcist, Mister Noise Marie has a mission. Could you wake him, for me?"

"Oh... Yes," Miranda nodded slowly. She carefully shook Marie's shoulder.

Marie was sleeping deeper than normal, so it took him a bit longer to wake up. When he did, he gave a tired sigh, "Did you need something, Miranda?"

"Yes, there's a finder that's come to tell you you have a mission," Miranda said softly and sat up. She stood up so that he could stand up, whenever he was awake enough.

Marie's words were directed at the finder, "If it's not urgent, could you tell Chief Komui I might be a bit slow to the briefing?" He didn't quite feel like getting up, yet, so if he could afford it he would take his time. He didn't rarely take long to get ready for missions, but he figured, since the finder hadn't been overly excited about trying to wake him, that the mission wasn't crucially urgent.

"Yes, I'll go tell him now. I'm sorry to have disturbed the two of you," the finder quickly nodded and left to tell Komui that Marie might be a bit late.

"Are you feeling okay, Marie?" Miranda sounded worried. "You're not feeling unwell, are you?"

"I'm fine, Miranda, don't worry," he assured in a soft voice. He didn't quite feel up to offering a smile, yet, but he didn't want her worrying. "I was just sleeping deeper than normal. I'm tired."

"Do you want me to go get you some coffee?" Miranda quickly offered. She wanted to help him however she could. The thought of him going out on a mission scared her. What if his head wasn't clear yet? What if he accidentally made a dangerous mistake because he still wasn't back in full emotional health? She tried to keep herself from panicking just form thinking about what could possibly go wrong.

"No, it's fine. If you'll walk with me, though, that might be nice," he said softly. After a few moments, and a few yawns, he stood up and offered her his hand. "It's always nice to have company just before you have to leave on a mission. I think so, at least. I know some people find it bothersome." Marie tried not to think that "some people" referred to Kanda. he wouldn't think about that. Grief during a mission wasn't a good thing.

"I think it's nice, too. Especially when they're sudden missions, like this," Miranda nodded. The walk to his room was quick, and both wish it had lasted a smidge longer. "I'll wait out here for you to get your things ready, then I'll walk with you to Komui's office, if that's okay."

"Of course, sorry you have to keep me company," Marie nodded. He kept a suitcase ready for short-notice missions, so he didn't have to do much. Miranda was glad to see that she wasn't the only one who did that.

"I wonder what your mission will be," Miranda said thoughtfully.

"Who knows. I'm sure it won't be anything too intense. Komui tries to give us all a bit of time before we're given harsh missions after losing someone. He's good about that," Marie sounded grateful. He probably was. It was Komui who had seen to it, once he was saved from the Second Exorcist project, who saw to it that he had the proper time and help to relearn how to fight without his sight. He would be grateful to him for as long as he lived, thanks to that.

"Yes... He's good about making sure we're given as much down time as possible when we need it," she offered a nod of agreement, "I just hope this mission isn't too soon for you. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes, Miranda. I promise I'll be fine, you don't have to worry," Marie promised. Soon, they had reached Komui's office. "I'll see you when I get back, Miranda. If I have time before I leave, I'll come say goodbye to you, again."

"All right, if I don't see you again before you leave, I'll see you when you get back," perhaps it was silly. Maybe it was just stupid superstition or gnawing anxiety, but Miranda couldn't help feeling that so long as she said she would see him again that he would come back alive.

"I'll see you, too," on the other hand, maybe it wasn't so silly. It might have just been something she picked up from other exorcists.

"Good bye, Marie. I love you. Please be careful," she said softly and gently hugged him, "I'll see you around..."

"I promise I'll come back, Miranda, don't worry. I'm not going to leave you. Hopefully it's a short mission, and you're still here when I get back," he gently returned the hug. When he pulled away from the hug Miranda's arms dropped away from him. There was no use in prolonging the goodbye. After all, it was a necessary part of their job. They couldn't afford to get too emotional about having to go.

"I know," she said softly, "Have a safe mission, Marie." With that, Marie went the rest of the way to Komui's office for his briefing.

Miranda decided it was probably time to go get breakfast. Although she never had much of an appetite in the morning, she could at least get coffee. Maybe, she decided, she could go see if Johnny needed any help with making uniforms after she had finished her coffee. No use in letting herself be idle simply because Marie wasn't there.

* * *

A/N:Thanks a bunch for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man

* * *

Chapter 23

As usual when one of them was away on a mission, Miranda and Marie did their best to keep in contact with their golems. Unfortunately, there were also days on the surprisingly drawn out mission when they just couldn't find time to contact one another. Days like that seemed to drag on and gnaw at Miranda's nerves until she felt ready to panic about every little thing. It didn't help that Lenalee had been sent on the mission, too. She was worried about Lenalee, as well; almost more so than Marie, perhaps. She found General Tiedoll could be good company, when she wasn't being pushed to train Time Record by General Sokalo.

Many of the days she was roped into training ended with her in a bedraggled, exhausted state. There was hardly any physical work, but she had to keep Time Record activated to almost painful extents to see if she could find any new abilities. It was after one of these days that a long week without a single sign of contact from Lenalee or Marie finally ended.

Having just returned to her room, Miranda collapsed onto her bed in an exhausted heap. She carefully set Time Record aside and picked up her golem to see if there had been any messages. Just as she picked it up, it got an incoming call.

"_Miranda? Are you there?_" Marie's voice came through.

"Oh, Marie! How have you and Lenalee been?" Miranda could hardly contain her excitement at hearing his voice. His tone was almost... happy. It was bizarre to hear his voice sound like that after the exhausted monotone she had found most days that she contacted him. It was far from unwelcome, however, when she could practically see his smile in her mind just from the sound of his voice.

"_We've been, well, great. I'm sorry I was unable to get into contact with you all week. On Monday, we found Kanda. Actually, he found us, but he's coming home with us! We were traveling up until today, we'll be stopping in a town, and the next town we get to will have an Ark Gate,_" Marie explained. His own voice was practically bubbling with joy. Kanda was safe. Kanda was alive. Even if he was angry at Kanda for coming home, even if his first response to him returning despite what he had been put through before was tears, he couldn't help this selfish joy that Kanda, the boy that had saved his life and become like a brother to him, was back.

"Oh, Marie, that's great! I'm so glad that he's okay!" Miranda didn't realize his conflict with the whole situation. She was just happy that his voice sounded so much more alive than it had before. The small hints of emotions that had previously been present began to reappear. "When will you all be getting back?" She couldn't help being lonely. His mission had lasted well over two months, and Miranda had been all but inactive during that time when she wasn't trying to raise her synchronization rate.

"_We should get back by next week. Lenalee and I might have to go back out to finish our mission, though. We got a bit held up when we found Kanda. How have you been this week?_" Marie asked.

"I've been well. Exhausted, though. I never realized how difficult it was to use new abilities with Time Record," she sighed, "It's nice, though, because the progress is really showing! The last time my rate was tested I was almost to eighty percent!" She smiled at the thought. With all of that hard work paying off she couldn't help the cheery tone to her voice.

"_It can be challenging to find new abilities. Give yourself time to rest between training sessions or you'll burn yourself out,_" he warned. He should have heeded that advice from Tiedoll when he had first joined the Order so long ago. It was hard to believe he had been there since just a few months before he turned eighteen.

"I know, don't worry. I've been making sure to take care of myself," she laughed softly at his concern. She smiled; hearing him sound truly concerned wasn't something she had ever thought she would be happy about. The last few weeks had proven that it was something to be happy about, though. Marie's apathy to most things had become worrisome after just a few days. "Oh, I can't wait until you get back! It's been lonely here without you or Lenalee around."

"_I'm excited to be back, too. This mission has just been one false lead after another,_" he admitted. Those missions always had exorcists restless and homesick. It was clear, through the tone of his voice, that he was beginning to feel that way, too.

"Komui admitted that he wasn't entirely sure that the original lead was trustworthy, to begin with," Miranda explained, "Of course, he also said that at this point he doubts any leads have much truth to them. I'm afraid that I'm starting to agree, seeing how missions are starting to go."

_"That's not a good attitude to have about all of this, Miranda,_" Marie reminded her gently. "_The more pessimistic you are about things the more likely they are to go awry."_

"I know, I know. It's just that so few things have been getting done recently. You've noticed it too, right? The way we're just scrambling to get things done? I even heard Komui talking to Reever about the fact that they might start trusting fragments of innocence to normal exorcists in hopes that more exorcists will be found."

"_Komui wouldn't allow that, Miranda. You know that he wouldn't,_" Marie said, "_But I do agree with the lack of things getting done. This will happen occasionally. For about two years before Allen, Krory, and you joined we hadn't gotten a single new exorcist. Things will pick back up, soon. Enjoy these times, they're like a chance for us all to rest."_

"I suppose you're right. Maybe I'm just getting a little tired of being cooped up in the Order. After my first few missions, I thought I would never get tired of being back here," she chuckled softly.

The other end suddenly erupted in static. When it had calmed down, Marie said, "_I'm leaving the area where the golem was working. I'm afraid I should probably go soon. I'll be back soon, Miranda. Take care of yourself."_

Miranda had given a small jolt of surprise at the sudden burst of static, but it was something that wasn't too much of a concern unless it was heard during a fight. Calls often broke up like that, all of a sudden. "All right. It was really nice to hear your voice again, Marie. I'll be waiting for you when you get back!" With that, the call dropped. Miranda gave a small sigh as her golem fluttered onto the small desk in her room and powered off. Her shoulders slumped. She glanced at the golem and wondered if maybe Marie would call back, soon. Everyone else was needed out on missions, or they were missing, but she had been kept there to raise her synchronization rate. That had been the first conversation she had had with someone that she enjoyed spending time with since Marie had stopped calling the week before.

A knock on her door jarred her out of her thoughts. "Yes?" She called and walked over to open the door.

It was Johnny. He had been kind enough to keep her company and help her with sewing when she had the time. "Hi, Miranda. I had some free time and was going to work on some uniforms. I was wondering if you wanted to come help me."

"Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" her eyes brightened and a small smile came to her face. Finally, she had something to do that wouldn't be completely exhausting.

"That last pair of gloves you made turned out really well. I was wondering if you would like to work on making gloves for everyone while I worked on a few new uniform designs."

"I would like that," Miranda nodded. Seeing as she herself was never found without a pair of gloves on she had taken a liking to making gloves. "Oh, by the way, how did you like those gloves? Do you get a chance to wear them very often?"

"They're wonderful! The science department is always really cold, so I've been wearing the a lot recently. Unfortunately, I spilled a bunch of ink on them the other day when I was writing. The stain looks like it won't come out all the way, but they're still wonderful! You chose a really good fabric for them, too. They probably wouldn't be very good in a fight, but for writing and office work they're fantastic!"

"I'm glad you like them," Miranda's smile brightened, "I'll have to make some for all of the scientists if I get the time." Her voice held a hint of a hum to the tone of it.

"I'm sure everyone will appreciate them," Johnny agreed with an enthusiastic nod of his head. "Come on, we should probably go before all of my free time runs out."

"Oh, you're right! Sorry for wasting time by talking she nodded in agreement and followed him quickly.

"No need to apologize, Miranda. You didn't do anything wrong," Johnny quickly assured as they went to the little sewing room he had set up in an unused storage room. It was a cozy little room with mismatched pieces of furniture and plenty of bright lighting so it was easier to watch what someone was doing. "I got some new fabric, if you want to try it all out. Or I have the fabric that you used last time, too. Which do you want to do?"

"I think I'll use the fabric from before. I'm going to make gloves for everyone in the science department," she knew it would take awhile, but she could stay in the sewing room for hours at a time on her own working on various things like that. She had before, when she was trying to get a good plan for gloves down.

"We'll definitely appreciate it," he smiled. He sat down at his sewing table and began working on things.

Miranda carefully began looking at the various recorded measurements for everyone's hands and cutting fabric accordingly. It took her awhile to get things set up for the first pair of gloves, but once she had fallen into a set rhythm with her sewing it didn't seem like such a long time. She was glad for her own gloves, too, because then it was harder to prick herself while she worked. She decided that if she had the time once she finished the gloves for everyone in the science department she would make a pair for Marie. She was already thinking about which fabric to use. She decided, since having fabric over his fingers usually interfered with his use of Noel Organon that she would make the gloves fingerless.

Her thoughts were scattered between over various subject as she worked. Everything from what she would get for dinner from the cafeteria to what things would be like again when Marie got back. These thoughts didn't lessen he quality of her work and she left them to simply have free reign in her mind.

"Miranda, I've been thinking that maybe it's time I make you a new uniform design. What do you think?" Johnny's question pulled her thoughts from their odd musings.

"Oh? You don't have to bother yourself with that much new work! Really!" Miranda quickly reassured, "The uniform that I have now is perfect!"

"All right, I just wanted to see what you though," Johnny smiled.

"You should focus more on everyone else," Miranda quickly said before she returned her attention back to her sewing.

"Also, Miranda, do you want a new golem? I know you and Marie are always calling each other when you're off on missions, and I know yours can be a little bit finicky sometimes. I have a new golem that no one needs, right now."

"That would be wonderful!" Miranda couldn't hide her excitement. It would be nice to not have so many dropped conversations because her golem had trouble picking up signals. "At least, if it's not too much trouble!"

"It's no trouble at all! I think the two of you use your golems the most out of anyone! And this one can also record holograms, sort of like Timcanpy can. I'm sure you can get a lot more use out of it than anyone will with it just sitting on the corner of my desk as a paperweight.

"I'm excited to try it out," she smiled brightly at him. As she got back to work on the gloves she began humming.

Johnny seemed happy to have gotten her so cheerful, "I have to go back to work, but when I get a bit of free time I'll go take it to your room. Remember to turn out the lights in here when you leave. And close the window if you decide to open it."

"I will! Oh, and I can just come by and get it. I wouldn't want you to have to go anymore out of your way for me," she still smiled brightly.

"Okay, I'll see you when you come pick it up," he nodded now that they had decided on a plan. He set aside his current project and stood up to go back to work.

Miranda stayed in there and worked for three more hours. All the while she hummed and sang to herself. Most of the tunes she hummed were ones that she had heard Marie play. By the time she went to pick up the golem from Johnny's desk her fingers hurt from sewing and her hands were cramping from the repetitive motion but she still seemed just as happy. Marie would be back. He wouldn't be so upset. It was looking like it would be a fantastic next few days.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I finished writing all of the chapters of this! From here on out, there are only five chapters and an epilogue left! Thank you so much for reading! I will try to post the chapters quickly!


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man

* * *

Chapter 24

Miranda was in the little sewing room again when Marie returned. She had managed to finish gloves for everyone in the Science Department, and was working on a pair of sturdy, fingerless gloves for Marie. This all was at some small cost to her hands, but she didn't seem to mind the ache in her joints or the series of pinpricks all over her finger tips. Her own gloves had helped greatly in reducing the painful little pits on her hands. She was just finished the first glove when there was a soft knock on the door of the sewing room. No one aside from Johnny ever bothered to come to the room, and he never knocked since it was originally a room he had set up for himself to work in.

With a small, curious hum, Miranda called, "Yes, who is it?"

"It's Marie, I'm back," his voice held a slightly exhausted note to it.

"Marie!" Miranda was on her feet and walking to open the door in just a few moments. She hugged him, "Oh, it's so good to see you! How did the rest of your mission go?" He hadn't been in reception areas for most of his travels.

"It went well. How have you been?" a small smile tugged at his lips and he gently wrapped an arm around her waist. The drained, defeated expression that had tugged at his features before he left for the mission was no longer there. The frown lines and worry lines had grown less prominent, and Miranda couldn't have been happier to see that.

"I've been wonderful, since you called last. I had been really worried about you and Lenalee, before," Miranda smiled and moved away from the hug enough to look up at his face. Sometimes she wished she wasn't so short compared to him. "I'm glad that you two found Kanda and brought him home."

"Yes. Oddly enough, I'm a bit mad at him for wanting to come back. All he's ever wanted, for as long as I've know him, was to be free of the Order. I am happy to know he's safe, though," Marie sighed.

"I think, if I knew him as well as you did, I might be a bit mad with him, too, for coming back," Miranda murmured softly against Marie's chest.

His shoulders sagged slightly, and everything about his posture showed exhaustion. "I wanted to come and tell you that we're back. I'm afraid I need to go get some sleep, soon. I'm glad you've been doing so well." He rested his chin on her head and hugged her for a moment longer before slowly pulling himself away from her.

"You look like you could use the rest. Would you like me to walk back to your room, with you?" Miranda asked softly.

"No, I should be fine on my own. Besides, it sounded like you were working on something. Johnny said you'd been spending a lot of time in here, I would hate to disrupt you further than I already have," he murmured gently and smiled at her. "But, if you would like to walk with me, and it wouldn't be bothersome to you, I wouldn't mind it, much."

"I need to give myself a break for a little while, anyways. I would love to walk with you," she smiled brightly and gently took his hand. She waited for him to start walking. For once she didn't have to put much effort into keeping up with him.

His steps were sluggish and lethargic and every so often his mouth would open in a jaw-cracking yawn that he didn't bother to hide behind a hand. "What have you been working on, recently?"

"It's a surprise," she smiled softly, "Perhaps it will even be done by he time you wake up!"

"I'm excited to know what it is," his smile was tired and he seemed to become even more lethargic when they finally reached his room. He gave her another quick hug and mumbled a soft "talk to you later" before he went to bed. For once he had no trouble with the sounds all around him. Thankfully, he was tired enough to tune them out.

Miranda was in a far brighter mood that day than she had been for a long while as she went to the cafeteria. It still felt empty and dull, but at least she knew Marie would be okay. She knew Lenalee was slowly but surely getting better.

"Oh, Miranda, there you are," Lenalee waved her over to her table in the cafeteria. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, which were exhausted, but she was smiling like normal.

Miranda walked over and sat down beside her without even getting herself food. That could wait. "How have you been, Lenalee? I hear you two found Kanda."

Lenalee's lips pulled down in a scowl and her eyes hardened, "I'm mad at him right now." She added a little huff at the end of her sentence that made the proclamation seem entirely childish.

"Oh? Did he do something to upset you?" Miranda raised an eyebrow in question.

Lenalee's pout was almost as childish as her previous statement, "He said I looked ugly because I was crying! But I was crying because of him! He should learn that I'll worry about him whenever he does something stupid like that!"

"I'm sure he just meant that it was because you were crying," Miranda attempted to console and attempted to keep the small note of amusement out of her voice. Seeing Lenalee that upset over something like that was oddly amusing. It made things seem almost normal. As if things hadn't been so terrible as of late.

"It's not funny," Lenalee insisted with a serious set to her jaw.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing like that. It's just odd to see you behaving so much like someone your age normally would. It's nice," Miranda gave her a sweet little smile, "I'm sorry if I seemed rude by laughing."

"You don't need to apologize, Miranda," Lenalee puffed her cheeks out and laid her chin on her arms on the table. "I'm glad he's back, though. Even if he can be an idiot."

Miranda still smiled at Lenalee's words. It was good to see that Lenalee wasn't as hopeless, any longer. "Lenalee, I've been meaning to ask you. Would you prefer a pair of new gloves, or would you prefer a new pair of shorts?" There were measurements for the clothes of all of the exorcists and finders in the little sewing room that Johnny kept for when he wanted to make a new uniform for someone. Miranda could easily figure out a pattern for a new pair of shorts for Lenalee.

"I think a pair of shorts would be better. I don't usually wear gloves all that often," Lenalee admitted. "Is that what you've been doing? I noticed everyone had nice gloves in the Science Department."

"Yes, I've been making things for everyone. Since the Science Department gets so cold all of the time and they always have to write I figured that would be the most useful thing that I could make for them. I'm making Marie some gloves that should help support his hands when he plays things so he won't hurt his knuckles by playing for too long."

"That's really thoughtful of you," Lenalee said gently.

Softly, and hesitantly, Miranda added, "I-I was thinking of making something to take to Allen. Do you think i would be allowed to? I was making him a pillow. I don't imagine that it would be comfortable for him down there in that cell..."

"I don't know if you would be allowed to take it to him, but you could still try. If you were able to, I'm sure Allen would really appreciate it," Lenalee said gently. "Just don't get discouraged if you're not able to take it to him."

"Don't worry, I won't. I just feel so bad for him... I'm too afraid to ask to go down and see him. I'm sure he's lonely down there, too... B-But that's why I'm going to make him something," for once she didn't put herself down for her failure to go try and comfort the boy who had pulled her form such a dark place.

"Allen will appreciate the thought, Miranda, even if you're not allowed to give him anything," Lenalee gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Miranda nodded, "Sorry, I've made this conversation quite glum. What kind of fabric would you like your shorts to be?" Her quick change to the subject was in an attempt to keep herself from getting too gloomy.

"I don't really mind many fabrics, so long as it's not a very rough fabric," Lenalee responded. She said nothing about the change of topic.

"All right, I'll see what I can figure out to use," she smiled. "And you usually keep them the same color as your skirt, right?"

"Yes, that usually seems to work best for me," Lenalee nodded, "Otherwise people tend to think it's my underwear."

"Your skirts are all black right now, right?" Miranda definitely didn't want to mess that up, "I would hate to make a mistake with the color."

"Yes, they're all black or grey. I would be fine with any colors, really, I could just as Johnny to make a skirt to math when he got the time," Lenalee hummed cheerfully.

Miranda nodded, "I'll keep that in mind. It might be a little while before I get them to you, though. Just because I'll probably try out a few different ways of making them."

"Take your time, Miranda. I didn't even expect you to do something like this, so you don't have to feel like you need to be rushed on my account," Lenalee assured as she finished her food.

"Thank you, Lenalee," Miranda offered a slight smile, "I just feel like I should be doing more to try and cheer everyone up. Baking didn't really do much good because I just kept ruining the kitchen, but I can sew, so I figured I would try to do something with that. Maybe when I get a bit better I'll try to do more to help Johnny out and make things for people. Perhaps if I have the time, still, I could even help him more with full uniforms."

Lenalee praised, "That's a wonderful thing for you to do! I'm sure everyone appreciates you doing this."

"I'm glad that you appreciate it, too... I'll do my best to make sure that I'm doing all I can to help everyone out," she said. Her stomach growled and reminded her why she had gone to the cafeteria in the first place. "Sorry, I need to go get some food. Don't feel like you have to wait for me, if you're ready to leave."

"All right. Have a good meal, Miranda. I'm going back to my room to rest," Lenalee said with a small smile. She took her dishes to the dish bin and then left.

* * *

Miranda carefully tied off the last stitch on Marie's gloves. She smiled and hummed as she carefully turned the gloves right-side out and set them on the table. She put away the extra thread she had and carefully put up the needle before she picked up the gloves and stood up.

Not even a day had passed since Marie returned. She knew he was still in his room and quickly went there. She knocked on the door. She was fidgeting and shifting her weight around when he opened the door. "Marie, I, um, I made you a present." She stammered.

"Thank you, Miranda. May I ask what it is that you made?" Marie offered her a warm smile. He had known she was making something, but he did his best to let what it was stay a secret for himself.

"It's a pair of gloves. I made them out of really sturdy fabric, so they should last in battles, but they're also fingerless, so you can still use Noel Organon with them on," Miranda quickly responded. She was smiling shyly as she gently pressed the gloves against his hand, "I hope you like them."

Marie closed his fingers around the fabric placed against his palm, and held Miranda's hand for a few moments before it was pulled away. His smile had widened, "Thank you very much, Miranda. These will be very useful."

"I'm glad you like them!" she had been so worried he wouldn't, but with the fact that he did she couldn't help a giddy little laugh.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.

(Also, just a heads up, this is a part of the manga I really don't remember much about so if details are foggy I apologize. This will be taking a turn for the more original, soon, since it's getting to the point where we last saw the exorcists from the Order.)

* * *

Chapter 25

The peaceful calm that had settled over the Order for those still remaining there couldn't have lasted long. Kanda had returned, yes, but it soon became clear to those who spoke with him that he didn't plan to stay long. This hardly came as a surprise to anyone, but what truly shocked everyone in the Order was when a sudden, emergency order was given to all exorcists.

Miranda couldn't imagine hurting Allen. Even as she numbly followed Marie down the hall to search the lower levels of the building. When they reached the area where the cells were, or had been, Miranda couldn't help a wide-eyed look around at the wreckage. She slowly walked around, "I don't think Allen will be in the building..."

"I know. He's near the end of the cliff. I can hear him, if I focus hard enough," Marie said simply. "Lenalee is the only person from the Order, there."

"We're letting him get away, aren't we?" Miranda kept her voice down. If it was found out they were going against such an order then anyone involved could be tried and executed for treason against the Vatican.

"Not if anyone else asks us. We'll say we saw him, but didn't have enough time to stop him before he was gone. So long as no CROW agents find him, or see Lenalee letting him get away, then no one but us will know," Kanda had initially come up with the idea that, if the order was ever given to kill Allen or recapture him they would find a way to stall those plans. Marie, Lenalee, and General Tiedoll had come up with the finer details of such plans. They had thought of various circumstances that could lead to the need of such actions and how they could be handled.

Miranda hadn't been included in this planning. Everyone had decided that, if it was found out, she would be the one person that it would be best to have safe. Marie had thought of that part of the plan, despite a twinge of guilt about knowing what kind of pain it would put her through if the plans really were discovered.

"I-I'm glad he'll be able to get away..." Miranda whispered softly, "I wish I had done more to help him. Him and Lenalee, they saved me from that town... I owe them both so much and I wasn't even able to pay that debt. Not even through helping them."

"Don't feel bad, Miranda. They both think you've done more than enough," Marie assured gently and hugged her. He paused when he heard the telltale sound of an Ark gate closing. Allen must have left. He could only hope that the younger exorcist would be okay, on his own.

Miranda could tell something had changed when Marie thoughtfully tipped his head in the direction that he said Allen had gone, "He's left, hasn't he?"

"I think so. I can't tell for certain. Lenalee is coming back, though. He must have left," Marie nodded. "We won't speak of any of this from now on, okay Miranda? Even if you don't think anyone is close enough to hear, I need you to promise not to say a word about this."

"I won't say a word about it, Marie," she agreed with a soft nod. She was quiet the whole time they walked away from the levels of the Order they had been sent to search. When they reached the top of the stairs that led to the main level of the new building, Miranda softly said, "Marie... I think I'm going to go to my room for awhile. If you don't feel like you need to talk, right now, that is." The last part was added in a smaller, quieter voice. She just didn't think she could really handle being around someone else, even Marie, at the moment. The day's sudden occurrence and knowing that Allen would be on his own from then on left her feeling uneasy.

"Do whatever you need to, to take care of yourself. If you need some time alone, then take it," Marie said gently, "Everyone needs a quiet moment to themselves every once in awhile."

Miranda was quiet for a long time before she hugged him. She felt so worthless. She shouldn't have been the one upset at the moment. She wasn't risking her life like the ones who had plotted to keep Allen safe from the CROW had. Speaking of the CROW, Miranda couldn't help wondering what had become of Link. The order given had reported that he had been injured, but he wasn't in the destroyed cell. She would have to ask Marie if he knew anything, later. With her thoughts still heavy with guilt and self-loathing she returned to her room with a heavy, slow step. How were things falling apart again? She just couldn't bring herself to understand it. They had gotten better for awhile.

She stopped walking when she passed a teary-eyed Lenalee. The girl was wiping at her eyes and trying to act as if she weren't on the verge of tears.

Miranda watched Lenalee pass with a terribly saddened look. After a few moments, she got herself to say, "Lenalee... Things will turn out okay, all right? J-Just try to stay positive..."

"Yeah, thanks Miranda..." Lenalee whispered. Her world was coming apart. The world she would give her life to keep together was falling apart and there was nothing she could do about it. She just didn't think she could manage to hold on like she was, anymore.

"I'm here to talk, if you ever need it," she whispered softly. She walked to her room without pausing. She couldn't bring herself to see Lenalee's sad face any longer.

She laid down with a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. Things really were going to ruin. There was no way there were enough exorcists to keep fighting in the war successfully. She just couldn't see a way that they would be able to get much further. Miranda couldn't help wondering if the Noah really were serious in their goals to wipe out humans entirely. She rolled over and stared at the wall for a long time. Her eyes filled with tears over and over, but never once she did she truly shed any. She gave another long sigh before finally getting up. The least she could do was go work on raising her synchronization rate. Even if the best way they had found was repeatedly expanding her barriers and the range of her abilities she could still at least do that.

When she got to a part of the Order where she would bother anyone she tried to activate Time Record. Despite her attempts she couldn't focus her attention enough to do anything. With a feeling of frustration Miranda returned to her room. Sleep wouldn't come, either, and all she could do was toss and turn on her bed.

* * *

Marie wasn't much better off than Miranda. He couldn't help an unending sense of paranoia. Every sound had him turning his head this way and that, almost as if it were an instinct to see what was around him despite it having been nine years since he had lost his sight. Sleep evaded him, too, but he didn't go to sit up with Miranda despite hearing her awake. He would respect that she needed some time to herself, at the moment.

With a long, deep sigh Marie stood and went to walk around. There were some parts of the Order that no one inhabited. They were at least a little quiet. All of the sounds were further muffled and he could get a moment of peace. Especially if he took off his headphones.

He finally found a hallway where he could only her the light murmurs of late-night cafeteria goers. He sat down and leaned back against the wall along the edge of the hallway. It was chilly, and he regretted not bringing wearing his jacket, but he was still able to just relax for a moment.

His thoughts wandered from wondering if the plan would ever be found out to if Miranda was okay and many thoughts in between. As they drifted to darker places he shook his head. There would be no use letting him get so worked up and worried over nothing. With that thought in mind he anchored the strings of Noel Organon to the floor a few feet in front of himself so he could hold the strings at a reasonable length to play. He carefully began strumming out a tune.

Marie's playing wasn't obsessive or mournful as it had been after he thought Kanda had died. It was a light little tune, despite his thoughts and mood, that at least kept his mind off of things. As opposed to most things he played this wasn't a song memorized from long ago. He made it up as he went. Eventually he ran out of notes he thought sounded right and slowly plucked out a few more notes before stopping. He had been so focused on the notes that for once he'd not noticed someone approaching.

"That sounded nice," Miranda murmured softly.

Marie gave a little start. He was hardly used to being surprised, so his reaction was a small big exaggerated.

Seeing that she had surprised him, Miranda quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Marie! I thought you had noticed me!"

"It's fine, Miranda. And thank you, for saying that my playing sounded nice. I was just making all of that up as I went along, so I was afraid it wouldn't sound very good," he responded softly.

"Most things you play sound wonderful, you know," she murmured softly, "You're a very gifted musician. I think your innocence is fitting, because of that."

"Perhaps it is. I have been interested in music all of my life. Even when I was younger, I played the piano quite often. Then I went on to learn quite a few other kinds of instruments," he explained softly and ran his thumb over the rings on the fingers of the same hand that housed the strings for Noel Organon.

"I always wanted to learn to play an instrument, but my parents said I needed to focus on other things... I still wish I could learn how to play piano," she sighed. After a few moments pause she cautiously inched closer, "Is it okay if I rest my head on your shoulder?" Her movements were slow and she was being as noisy about them as she could.

When she inched closer like that he couldn't help an amused expression, "Miranda, you don't have to worry about startling me again, now that I know you're here. You can lay your head on my shoulder."

Her eyebrows arched up slightly and her face went red when he mentioned her avoiding scaring him, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! It's just that I'm not really around you without your headphones on, much. I wasn't sure if you could hear as well!" Her voice stammered a little. It was almost tearful, and her eyes stung a bit. The day had been stressful, and it seemed that that, combined with having just possibly offended him terribly, had her apologizing in a shaky voice again.

"It's okay, Miranda," Marie quickly reassured her, "I promise you, it's okay. You didn't offend me, I appreciate that you wanted to make sure not to startle me again. That was very sweet of you."

"I probably insulted you, oh, I'm so, so sorry... I'm so sorry," she apologized again as the tears brimmed over. She stuffed the knuckles of one hand against her mouth in hopes of hiding her shaky breathing. She ignored her teeth digging lightly into her hand.

"You didn't insult me, Miranda," Marie's voice was mellow. He kept his tone calm and his movements even more calm as he gently hugged her. "You don't have to feel bad, you don't have to get this upset. You're not the first person to do this, and you certainly won't be the last. You've gone about it in the kindest way, though, Miranda." He gently rubbed her back and moved so he could lightly press her head against his shoulder so she would have something to cry on.

Miranda relaxed against him and pressed her forehead more firmly against his shoulder. She still cried a little, but her shoulders had ceased trembling and her breathing had steadied out. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have gotten so upset. I must seem like such a fool for overreacting like this..."

"You're not a fool. You've had a trying day. We all have. I think any of us are about ready to break down at the slightest push," he told her gently and continued to rub her back. It was times like these that she always seemed to petite and vulnerable, like someone he had to protect. "You're not as used to stressful situations as we are."

"I'm not even risking my life like all of you are... I shouldn't be this upset. It's not like I'm putting myself in danger, like you all are," she almost whimpered that as she fought to keep her voice from wavering and breaking.

"But you know that you'll lose even more people you're close to, if we do get caught. That's reason enough to be upset, Miranda. You don't have to feel guilty, or feel like your emotions aren't valid because your position isn't as dangerous as ours. Seeing others suffer... It can be almost as hard as being the one suffering in a different way," Marie assured softly. He gently rocked, rocking her with him, in hopes that it would further calm her down.

"I don't have a right to be upset, Marie. I never do anything to help anyone and I just sit around and complain like anyone actually cares," she whispered. Her voice broke as she tried to force away the lump in her throat.

"You've helped plenty of people, Miranda. You've saved so many lives, and even if there were some you couldn't save, I guarantee every single one of us would be dead by now if it weren't for your abilities. You have given us a fighting chance in this war, Miranda, one that we lost the second that the Noah showed up," Marie kept his voice low and soft as he hugged her a bit tighter. He stilled and just continued to rub her back and hold her close.

"But what good am I if I can't save everyone? What about people who have lost friends because finders had to protect me...?" tears ran over again and she was trying to keep her voice calm and still. She had begun shaking again. She clung to him tighter now, as if he were the only thing grounding her. "I should have helped so many more people but I never did. And now I'm too upset to even activate Time Record to practice. I'm letting people down by being lazy! By being worthless!" Her voice had raised in pitch.

"Miranda-" he was cut off by her continued crying and rambling. "Miranda! Please, calm down. You are wonderful, you are amazing. You are so much more than the Order could have asked for. Your abilities saved everyone on the Ark, even if you couldn't save everyone on that ship you at least managed to save a few people. I know it's hard to let people go, but it's better to save a few than to be left all alone. If you had been here nine years ago, Miranda, I don't think you understand how much could have been changed." How many people would have lived had they had an ability as wonderful as hers back then? He didn't think he would be able to imagine how much things would have changed.

Miranda stopped crying for a moment. After awhile, she softly asked, "Would... Would I really have been able to make a difference in anything?"

"Yes, Miranda. Your abilities are unlike anything the Order has ever seen and it's so incredible the things you're able to do," Marie assured her softly. He held her close and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "You shouldn't be so down on yourself, Miranda. You're strong, brave, capable, and you're kind. You are so, so kind."

Miranda stayed quiet for a long while. She opened her mouth a few times but no words came. When finally she found the nerve to speak, she quietly whispered, "Thank you... Thank you for saying all of those things for me. To make me feel better. You're truly amazing, too." She stayed like that for some time. When she finally pulled away from the hug it was to wipe at her eyes. "I should be the one reassuring you. I'm sorry about everything, but if it's not too much trouble, do you maybe want to go to the library?" Her question was hesitant.

Marie sat quietly through her long silence. He could tell she needed the time to gather her thoughts. When he felt her slowly move to sit up he quickly loosened his arms around her so that she could sit up without trouble. Her question brought a slight smile to his face, "Going to the library sounds wonderful, Miranda."

Without words, Miranda stood. She gently took Marie's hand as he stood, and held onto it as they walked to the library. The only sounds in the halls were their breathing and footsteps. When they got to the library, Miranda lightly opened the door for him. She followed him into the library and walked over to find a book. She found one of the more lighthearted books that she had discovered recently. It would do them good to read something light and cheerful.

Marie had sat down on one of the couches and waited for Miranda to come back. He gently hugged Miranda when she took a seat beside him.

They spent a good portion of the night that way. Miranda read quietly and cuddled against him. She eventually had to stop reading because she got the hiccups. Her shoulders gave a little jump as she jumped again. "Sorry, I think I need to stop reading-" she hiccuped again, "Now."

"It's fine," Marie carefully took the book, "Try holding your breath."

Miranda had already tried that, but she tried it again, then. She ended up hiccuping before she even held her breath for long enough to do any good. She gave a small sigh, which was interrupted by a hiccup, as well. "That didn't work." She made a small noise of discomfort the next time she hiccuped. "I might have to go get a glass of water from the cafeteria. Sorry. I'll be right back, you can stay," she was interrupted by another hiccup, "Here."

"All right, I hope the water helps," Marie nodded. He stayed put. Miranda would likely think that she had troubled him had he gone with her. He supposed it was rather selfish that he stayed there, too, since the sound was beginning to grate on his nerves.

Miranda had already gone to get a glass of water. She was gone for almost five minutes; it was reasonable considering the walk to the cafeteria and actually drinking the water until her hiccups went away. When she got back she apologized again as she settled down beside him. "Do you want me to keep reading?"

"That depends, would you like to keep reading?" Marie could tell her voice was getting a bit tired from how she spoke. He didn't want her to feel like she had to keep reading if her voice needed a break and she knew it.

"I think I'm done reading, for now," she admitted and leaned against him, "Would it be okay if we just stayed like this for some time?"

"That would be perfect," he murmured softly. He wrapped an arm back around her.

That was how the two of them stayed for the rest of the night. Neither could really say if they had slept much during the night, but they had both certainly dozed a few times.

* * *

A/N:


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 26

Marie yawned and did his best to stay still when he awoke from dozing off for a few moments. Miranda had fallen asleep for a few moments beside him; he didn't want to wake her from those few minutes of much needed sleep. They both hadn't slept more than a few moments of dozing off all day. A few seconds later when Miranda woke again it proved that perhaps it would continue to be that way.

Miranda yawned, too. "I think I'm going to go get up and walk around for a moment. I don't think I'll be able to sleep," she murmured softly after a few minutes. Her voice was distraught. "I might go to the cafeteria. Would you like me to bring you anything?"

"No, but I might like to accompany you, if that wouldn't bother you," Marie would respect it if she needed a bit more time alone. He wanted the company, but at times like that the need to be away from company could be more demanding than the need to be with someone.

Miranda thought for a long few moments. She lightly took his hands before quietly saying, "That would be nice... I would really appreciate some company."

"Then I'll come with you," he stood up when she did and walked to the door when she did. He didn't have his headphones on, so his hearing was a bit dulled, but it didn't seem to get in the way of his usual navigation skills. He even opened the door for her and motioned for her to go through. When she had he followed.

"Thank you," she murmured softly when she went through the door. She still held his hand while they walked down the hall. She didn't hug his arm to walk as close to him without tripping him as she normally did. She was silent the whole walk to the cafeteria, too.

A finder or two were there, but it was an empty room for the most part. Even Jerry seemed upset again without Allen having the probably chance to ever come back. His cooking was just as good as normal, though. His greeting was just dulled.

Miranda didn't get much food. She ate even less of it once she and Marie were sitting down. Eventually she just rested her head against Marie's shoulder and gave a quiet sigh. "It's so quiet here..." The peace in the room was so unbearable it made her feel as if she were going to be sick to her stomach if she thought too deeply about it.

"It is," he wanted to say something more. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't have the words for it. He thought long and hard but no matter how much he thought on it he couldn't think of anything to say that would make her feel better. It had never been like that. Even before Lavi and Kanda and Allen there had always been an exorcist or two to cause commotion in the cafeteria. Now their numbers had dwindled and their hopes had fallen.

"How do you handle it, when things get like this?" Miranda asked in a broken voice.

Marie thought. It had gotten almost that bad, before, but never that terrible. He couldn't think of anything he had ever done during those times, though, except for deal with it. "I just try not to think about it. It's not been this bad, before. I wish I could tell you how to make things like this less difficult, but short of shutting down completely, I'm afraid I can't think of any. Just try to handle it until things get better. Find someone to talk to. Occupy yourself with something else." Marie suggested. After a pause he added, "If you ever need someone to talk to, you know I'll always listen."

"Yes... I know. I just feel so bad, always going to you. You're having a hard time, too, and all I do is complain and break down," she mumbled quietly. "I need to stop bothering you with myself. I-I need to learn how to suck it up and stay quiet like all of you do."

Marie hugged her close to his side, "Miranda, don't try to do that to yourself. Don't try to act stoic. If it's bothering you, you will break yourself by trying to ignore it. You're never bothering me by talking about what everything is making you feel. I like hearing about when you're happy, and even if I don't like knowing you're sad, I'm just glad that you trust me enough to talk to me about it. I want to do what I can to help you, and I can't do that, if you try to push me away."

She was quiet for a long while before softly whispering, "Thank you, Marie... You're one of the best things to have ever happened to me." She still sounded upset, but there wasn't the chocking note of tears on her voice.

He hugged her just a bit tighter as he whispered back, "And you to me."

They sat in silence for a long while. Soon the finders that had been there finished their food and left. They were the only two in the room, then.

"Would you like to go anywhere?" he asked her softly after awhile. "To take your mind off of things?"

"Not really... I don't think I would be able to get much sewing down, right now, and I don't want to go to my room and be alone," she murmured against his shoulder.

He continued to hold her close, "If you decide you would like to do anything, tell me. Perhaps, if you feel like it, we could find somewhere where we won't be bothering anyone if I play music."

"That would be nice. I like it when you play music," she said softly. She still showed no sign of moving, though.

"Just let me know when you would like me to play something for you. Perhaps we could go back to the library, then," he offered gently.

She nodded against his shoulder. She went still after that. It was a long while before she sat up and ate a few more bites of her food. After that she softly asked, "Can we go to the library, now?"

"Of course," Marie nodded. He stood and offered her a hand.

Miranda took the offered hand with a soft thank you and stood. She put the dishes away and then walked with him to the library. Once they were there, she went to one of the couches where they normally sat. She waited for Marie to get comfortable before sitting beside him.

Marie anchored the strings of Noel Organon to the ground. This song was as upbeat as he could make it. He felt that would do Miranda more good than something solemn and sad.

Miranda listened to the music quietly. It did more to cheer her up than she had expected; the nature of the music was bright and bouncy and happy. She listened intently, and soon she was humming along when the notes got repetitive.

After a little while, Marie paused. "Miranda, do you remember that old piano, here?"

"You mean the one you took to get tuned after we met?" Miranda asked softly. She remembered that outing to town, certainly, and she definitely remembered the piano. She had been unaware it survived the level four attack and the move.

"Yes, that one. It's in a storage room not far from here. How would you feel about learning to play? Music can be quite a therapeutic thing," Marie suggested lightly.

"That would be nice, actually," she said softly.

"Then shall we go see if it's where it was last time I was around it?" he offered. When he got a hum of agreement he stood and offered her his hand again. They walked together to the storage room. Sure enough, the piano was still there.

"Now, do you know anything about music?" Marie asked as he motioned for her to sit on the piano bench. He took a seat beside her on the very edge of the bench.

"I know that notes go from A to G," Miranda said, "And I can read music. But I don't know much else."

"Then we'll begin with the basics. Where the notes are," Marie said after a moment of thought. He was familiar enough with the layout of a piano to be able to find the notes. Setting his hands down as if to play, he said, "The note that my thumbs are on is C. Most beginners will learn to play with both thumbs on the middle C of the piano, and then learn to move out from there. The notes are in a repetitive cycle, in alphabetical order. Which means that this note will be D." He tapped his right index finger on the note under it.

Miranda had found a similar set of keys where she was sitting. She lightly tapped what she thought would be the D key; the note played softly but it was still audible.

"Yes, that is the right note," Marie nodded his head. "Can you tell me what you think this note would be?" He played the next note.

"That would be E, wouldn't it?" Miranda played the corresponding note where her hands were.

"Correct," Marie nodded, "That would be E."

They continued on like this for a good few hours. Miranda slowly figured out which notes were which. When she had them down well enough, Marie declared that that would be enough for the day. If she tried to learn too much at once then she would likely forget most of it by the next time they had a chance to do something like that again.

"Maybe we could do this again soon," Miranda offered him a faint smile. He couldn't see it, but he could hear it in her voice. His plan had worked; he had found a way to distract her from everything and get her cheered up.

"I'm sure we'll both be able to find times to do something like this again, soon," Marie nodded, "For now, you sound tired. Would you like me to walk you back to your room?"

Miranda paused in thought for a few minutes. When she answered it was with, "Yes, that would probably be best. I think I might be able to try and sleep now."

Marie nodded. Again, he stood up first and offered her a hand.

Miranda took the offered hand to stand up. She walked closer to him than before as they walked. "Thank you for all of this... It means a lot that you took all of this time to try and cheer me up."

"I'm happy I could help," he replied in a soft tone. "I'm glad that I could help. Even if it was just a little."

She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. When they got to her room she hugged him for a long while. Her face was buried against his shoulder and her arms were wrapped loosely around his trunk. "I love you," she whispered after a pause of silence. "You're wonderful."

He lightly rubbed her back, "I love you, too. " He pressed his lips to her hair, "You're amazing. Sleep well, Miranda. I promise, things will get better soon. We just have to keep our chins up until they do."

"I know," she said softly. Neither could know for sure if his words held any truth, but they could both hope they did. "You should try to sleep, too... If you do, sleep well."

"I will," he said softly. When Miranda released him from the delicate hug he wished her one last good night and went to his own room.

Miranda settled down for the night. After an hour or two of tossing and turning she finally managed to settle her thoughts enough to sleep.

* * *

A/N:Thank you so much for reading this far! I fear that I am quickly approaching the end of this story! Again, I was too lazy to proof this, so please excuse any mistakes!


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

* * *

Chapter 27

Miranda didn't sleep for long, unfortunately. When she woke up she decided to go to the sewing room. It wasn't necessarily that she felt like sewing but she wanted to do something productive. When she got there she stopped. The door was locked. Johnny always left the door open for her; even when he was overwhelmed with work he would make sure she could get into the room to work on projects if she wanted.

Her feet carried her more quickly than expected to the Science Department. She got there and opened one of the large doors into the disorganized room. Johnny's desk had been cleaned off. She walked to Reever's desk, "Reever, is everything okay with Johnny? The sewing room, it was locked."

He had trouble meeting her eyes as he spoke, "Johnny went home. With everything that's going on, he decided it would be the best option to go home and help run his family's business. He gave me the key to the sewing room, so you could get in there if you needed to. He left everything where it was, for you."

"He... Left?" Miranda asked softly. With how much determination Johnny had shown towards helping out the exorcists, who had been treated so unfairly, Miranda couldn't bring herself to believe that he would simply decide to leave and let his memories be wiped. She accepted the keys with a quiet thank you. "I'm so sorry, to hear that he left."

"It's okay, nothing could have helped it. We all knew someone would decide to go home eventually," Reever gave a small shrug, "He didn't want to make a big deal of saying goodbye and making things around here more sad."

"I... If there's any way I can help again, like when I helped organize papers and things like that, just let me know," Miranda looked at the key in her hand. She didn't feel much like trying to sew, anymore. She tucked the key into her pocket and turned to leave with slumped shoulders. Just before she left, Komui noticed her and called her over.

"It seems there's finally a mission for you," he told her. "It should take just a few days. We just need you to go help Klaude and Timothy return safely." He handed her a folder. "It's rather snowy, so I would suggest that you bring a coat with you."

"When will I be leaving?" Miranda asked softly as she flipped through the folder.

"As soon as you can. It's nothing urgent, but we would appreciate if you went to help them as soon as possible," Komui said. "And do be careful. Don't overdo it, okay?"

"I won't, I promise," she gave a small nod of her head before she closed the folder and left. The empty feeling from the day before had returned. She busied herself as she walked to her room to collect what she would need by flipping through the folder. It was nothing interesting; the papers contained within were only reports on the initial mission and the circumstances that led to the need of her assistance. A new piece of innocence had been found. Despite Klaude being a General, it was decided that having Miranda there for defense while transporting it back would be the safest option. There were so few exorcists left that no risks were to be taken.

When Miranda got to her room she got her coat and her suitcase. It was habit for most exorcist to keep a suitcase packed at all times. She was no different. She went to Marie's room, and just as she was about to knock on his door she heard him snoring softly. She couldn't bring herself to wake him. It would be a simple mission, after all.

* * *

What was supposed to last for only a few days turned into a week. Then two. The team had been caught in a blizzard in the town just a mile from where the Ark gate was. They couldn't go any further until the weather cleared up.

Timothy gave a sick little sniffle and coughed.

"You really shouldn't have gone outside without your coat on, Timothy. You're sick now," Miranda sighed. She took the thermometer out of his mouth. "It looks like you have a fever."

"I thought there was trouble, I didn't have time to get a coat," Timothy sneezed and sniffled.

"You should have listened to me," Klaude scolded lightly, "Oh well, it's not like this will affect the mission much. We'll still be delayed getting home for a long while. Just rest up, for now. Don't do something stupid like that again, though."

"I won't," Timothy pouted.

"I think I brought some hard candies with me if your throat starts hurting, Timothy," Miranda said after a moment of thought. "For now, you should probably try to sleep as much as you can. And stay away from the windows. They'll be cold."

"Yes ma'am," Timothy mumbled. Klaude had certainly had an influence over the boy once he was in her care; he was more polite now than he had been before even if he still did have some unsavory habits.

"Go take a nap," Klaude told the child.

Timothy didn't dare deft her. He curled up under the covers on the bed he had been sleeping in during their time trapped in that town. The inn didn't have many occupants, so he was in a different room than Miranda and General Nine.

With Timothy laying down to take a nap, Klaude deemed it time to go so they wouldn't disturb the child. She walked down to the common room of the inn. It tended to be warmer there than in the rooms, and she wasn't one to enjoy cold.

Miranda had followed her. When they got to the common room and sat down near the fireplace, she quietly said, "General Nine... You know a lot about how innocence works, don't you? About it's capabilities?"

"It depends on the certain fragment, but I might be able to tell you something if you have a specific question," the older woman gave a shrug. Her own innocence was dozing on her shoulder.

"I've been trying to see how far back I am able to heal injuries. Do you think I would be able to heal something that was, say, around nine years old? An old injury that-"

"I don't know your innocence well enough to know, but why not give it a try?" the General was no patient woman for rambling and going on and on.

Miranda stayed quiet for a few moments, "I don't want to get the hopes up of the person I'm looking to try it on if I'm unable to extend Time Record's abilities back that far. It would be cruel to get their hopes up, like that."

"Then find something else to try it on, first. Something as old, or older," the answer seemed simple enough to her. "And if you're not capable of that yet, then keep practicing at it before you try it on that person."

Miranda nodded slightly. She had scars that old on her own body from work mishaps and general clumsiness. She already knew she could go back at least a year, from healing the scars on her hands that Road had left. It had been exhausting to do that much at first, but it had become her test for how far she had come. If it took less energy then she had improved. If she could heal it more flawlessly then she had improved. "Thank you," she thanked softly for the help.

"You knew all of that for yourself already, so why are you thanking me for telling you?" General Nine asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I didn't know all of that," Miranda tried to insist timidly.

"You did, you're just too uncertain of yourself to accept that you did. You should try thinking for yourself more often. Act on your own thoughts, as long as they're reasonable," she said, "You're not always going to have someone to ask approval of your opinions from."

"You're right, I'm sorry I bothered you," Miranda had been hoping to avoid a scolding for her question by not going to her own General to ask. Her shoulders slumped a bit and she sighed. "I'm sorry, I won't bother you like this again."

With a slight roll of her eyes the General sighed, "I'm beginning to see why General Sokalo says he got two cry babies as apprentices. Don't apologize, you'll only beat down your own self confidence if you do without a good reason. Now, leave me alone. I'm finally rid of my own apprentice for a little while, I don't need to be borrowing someone else's."

"Right," Miranda stopped herself just short of apologizing again as she went to find something to do. She had bought some fabric the day before, since she could afford to spend the money on it, and some nice thread and a few needles. She decided to go up to the room her and General Nine were sharing and work on sewing for awhile.

Within a few days the weather finally began to clear up. With Timothy feeling better they returned to Headquarters. It was a day long trip to the next town where the Ark gate was, but once they were there it wasn't long before they were all back in the Order.

Miranda accompanied the team to Komui's office to deliver the innocence and fill out her mission report. She didn't get far into the office before she was pulled aside by Reever.

She looked at him with questioning eyes as he stopped her, "Do you need something?"

"Miranda, while you were gone, a few things happened. Everyone tried to contact your team, but because of the storm no one managed to reach you three. We found out Johnny wasn't leaving to go home. He was going to help Allen. Kanda left, too," Reever was trying desperately to put off the last of the news. It would no doubt be the most painful to explain. Finally, with a deep sigh, he continued, "Marie and Lenalee were charged with treason, for helping with the planning and escape of Kanda. Their trial is tomorrow."

Miranda felt as if she had been submerged in icy water. She was incapable of finding words as she tried to wrap her mind around the news. Her stomach churned; she surprised herself when she didn't double over retching right then. The soft words that finally slipped past her lips were, "What will be their sentence...?"

This brought another long bout of painful silence as Reever tried to find the words that would bring the news with the smallest shock to the clearly shaken woman. "If they are found guilty, they will either be imprisoned for the rest of the war or until their skills are needed," he paused again. He had to fight past a lump in his own throat thinking about losing two of the exorcists that had been there for so long. They were his friends. He had watched Lenalee grow up and had seen Marie have to adjust to things after he was blinded. He had been one of the ones to think of the headphones. He finally cleared his throat to add, in a whispered tone, "Or they will be put to death."

Miranda couldn't stop herself from letting out a shaky breath followed by tears. She covered her face; for the longest time she just stood there shaking and crying silently into her hands.

"You may go see them, before doing your mission report," Reever informed her gently. The reason the trial had been pushed back by three days was so that there would at least be a chance for the absent exorcists to see their comrades one last time.

"Thank you," her words were shaky and nearly inaudible.

"I'll send someone to show you where they are being held," Reever said. Before he turned to leave, he added, "I'm sorry, Miranda. We're all trying so hard to fix this."

Miranda gave a silent nod and waited for the person who led her down numerous staircases and hallways. It was a dizzying labyrinth of stonework; had she not been with the other she doubted she would have been able to make it there or back without getting lost.

"We are here. You will be allowed ten minutes with each of them," these simple words were spoken in a dull tone.

"Thank you," she said softly. She was first allowed to see Lenalee. The cell that Lenalee was in was a spacious one with a wooden door. The whole room was chilly stone and concrete.

Lenalee had been sitting quietly when Miranda walked in. She looked up when the older women came in and quickly stood to hug her. "I thought I wouldn't get to see you before tomorrow..."

"Of course I would. I wouldn't ever let you go without coming to see you," Miranda whispered. "I'm sorry, I should be able to do something to help. I never got to repay you, for saving me."

"Brother says that they're trying to push back the date again, just until Teidoll comes back with Kanda... But I don't think he'll be able to," Lenalee admitted softly, "But I'm not scared of dying here. I'm just sorry I'll be doing that to everyone."

"I'm sure he'll pull through for you. If he hasn't then maybe we can try to do something else, anything," Miranda insisted softly. "I won't let you go that easily... Not after how much you've done for me. Lenalee, you're my best friend, I'm not going to let you go that easily."

"Thank you, Miranda," Lenalee said softly, "Just promise you won't let yourself get too down if there's nothing we can do."

"We'll find a way to get you and Marie out of this," Miranda promised. She refused to believe that she would lose either of them, let alone both. "With how bad the situation of exorcists is I'm sure they won't kill two of the best exorcists... Maybe we can find some way to do something with that."

"Try talking with brother, if you really think you can get us out of this. He'll help you with whatever you want to do," Lenalee advised softly. "Thank you for not giving up on us, Miranda. Thank you."

"I could never give up on the two of you," she whispered softly. "Not after everything that you two have done for me, I could never, ever give up on you. And i won't give up on Allen, either."

Lenalee hugged her. They spent the rest of the ten minutes sitting in silence; Miranda just hugged the younger close. When it was time to go, Miranda softly whispered, "I'll see you later, okay...?" That old thought process that maybe if she said that it would have to be true was present.

"Yeah, see you later. Goodbye, Miranda," Lenalee whispered softly as she watched Miranda leave. She sat back down and sighed. She doubted there was anything that Miranda could do; she could only hope that Miranda would be able to handle losing both of them at once.

Miranda approached Marie's cell with an odd sense of dread. What if it really was the last time she would be able to speak with both of them? She tried to fight away the thought. She stopped and let out a small breath while doing her best to get straight in her head what would be the most important to say to him.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading! I meant to post this a few weeks ago but I guess I forgot! My apologies!


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.

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Chapter 28

Marie awoke slowly when he heard footsteps approaching the door to his cell. It caught him off guard; they were familiar, timidly placed footsteps that he would have recognized anywhere. He sat up and turned his attention to where he was half certain that the door was. The drafty, large room left him a little disoriented on where everything was. The concrete echoed noises and air currents so he could hardly hear where he was. This didn't stop him from having an idea of who was coming, though.

"You'll have ten minutes, then I'll come to escort you back upstairs," the guard stated outside of his door. With a noisy creak the door was pushed open.

Miranda walked in. She greeted softly, though her words were cut off by the door slamming closed.

"Miranda, I'm glad you made it back in time," he offered the words in a gentle tone. He motioned for her to sit down beside him on the small bed. He didn't feel much like walking thanks to the distortions of sound in the room. He kept running into things when he tried.

"I am too," she sat down beside him. Her voice never raised above a small little whisper. Even that sounded strained by a lump of tears in her throat.

Marie gently wrapped an arm around her. Clumsily, he felt around for her hand. He gently squeezed her fingers. "Miranda, I'm sorry you had to come home to this. I didn't really think this would really happen."

She pressed her face against his shoulder as she shifted closer to snuggle close, "You couldn't have predicted this... I'll find away to get you two out of this, though. I will not let you two die..." Her thoughts were on the fact that she wouldn't let herself lose them. Sometimes she could hardly believe how selfish she had become. "I can't lose you two."

Marie gave her hand another little squeeze, "Sometimes things can't be avoided, Miranda. If things do turn sour and Lenalee and I are executed, I need you to promise that you won't do anything drastic. It will be hard, but I want you to try and move past this." It wouldn't be the last time, if the war kept on for much longer, that she would lose someone close. He couldn't stand thinking about how she would respond, though.

"I know. I'll do my best," she responded quietly. She stayed quiet for a time longer, "Marie, I don't want to get your hopes up, since I haven't had a chance to really try, but..." She paused there as she thought of how to best word her next thought. It would be the last time, perhaps, that she would be able to see him. "I might, possibly, be able to use Time Record to heal your eyes for a little while."

There was a moment of shocked silence that accompanied that statement. "I would love to be able to see your face," Marie's voice was far quieter than normal. "If you can, that would be beyond words. I don't think I would ever be able to thank you enough."

"You already have," she promised softly. With a deep breath, she said, "I'm going to try now, okay?" Her hands were shaking and she could practically hear her own heart in her ears.

Marie gave a slight nod. He sat quietly and listened to the sound of Time Record's disk rattling as Miranda held it to activate it. He felt the familiar, odd, tugging feeling that came with time being turned back around an injury. Normally it only ever lasted a few seconds, but this went on for nearly half a minute before the feeling stopped.

"Okay... T-Try opening your eyes, now," she stammered and swallowed nervously. She hoped she hadn't gotten his hopes up for nothing. His eyes certainly looked different as they opened, but he almost immediately closed them.

He tried to open them again, but couldn't keep them open for more than a few second. "It worked..." His words were like a breath of awe. The room, which was actually quite dim, seemed to be as bright as looking straight at the sun for his eyes. It took a few more blinks to adjust before he opened his eyes to look at her. He reached out slowly to rest a hand on her cheek. Tears formed in his eyes, "You're... I could have never imagined this was how you looked... You're so beautiful." His thumb gently traced the arch of her cheek.

Miranda slowly reached her hand up to rest it over his, "Your eyes are such a wonderful color." She couldn't help tears forming in her own eyes as she leaned her face against his hand, "I'm so glad it worked."

He just looked over her face in silence for a few moments longer before he pulled her closer into a gentle hug. He only held her there for a few seconds, though, before moving her back to arm's length so he could look at her again. His expression was so warm. "Thank you, Miranda. I just wish I could see some of the others."

"Oh! I-I have pictures of them," Miranda fumbled with her golem before it projected a picture of Lenalee carrying a tray of coffee mugs. "This is Lenalee."

"I saw her once when she was small, just before the mission where my eyes were damaged. She had just gotten here, then. She's grown up so well," Marie's expression was like that of a proud older brother. In a way, he was like Lenalee's older brother. He had helped to comfort her at times, when she was younger.

Miranda put up a picture of Kanda, Lavi, and Allen in the cafeteria arguing. She had lots of random little snapshots saved onto the little device. "This one is Kanda. That's Lavi, and that one is Allen. Allen's hair was longer than that last time I saw him, though."

"So that's what Kanda looks like? I had always wondered. I think I had a bit better idea of what he looked like than you, from Master's descriptions of him," Marie whispered fondly as he looked at the picture. "Allen's hair... It's more transparent than I had imagined. I had always thought it would just be white."

"That had always caught me off guard, too," Miranda agreed softly. "When I first met him, I wasn't quite sure what to think."

"Do you have any more current pictures of General Tiedoll?" he asked her softly. His memories of the general's appearance were vague, as he hadn't really been put under his teachings until after his escape from the Second Exorcist Project.

"I think I might," Miranda nodded. She took the golem again and flipped through various images on it. She had quite a collection of little snapshots on it. Most of them looked like those caught in them were unsuspecting, but it was just normal moment in the Order. Finally, she found one, "Yes, here it is." It was a bit hard to see him in the picture, but he was there.

They spent most of the ten minutes looking at various pictures. Soon, Miranda was being given a one minute warning. She put the golem back into the pocket it had been stashed in.

"Marie, if I don't get a chance to come back, and if things do turn out bad... Just know that I love you. I love you a lot," they had each said it before, but the desperation in her voice and the look in her eyes made it seem all the more real.

"I love you too," he murmured warmly and hugged her again. "You have done so much for everyone around here. You've done so much for me. Not just with this. With everything. We all owe you so much."

Miranda buried her face against his shoulders in hopes of hiding her tears, "And I owe you and Lenalee and the others so much... I don't think I would have lasted much longer on my own before I joined the Order. And I don't think I have lasted long here without meeting people like you and the others. I just hope that we can continue to fight in this war together."

He could hear the break in her voice and feel his shirt grow wet under her eyes. He rubbed her back in hopes of comforting her, "Perhaps we will. It's not certain that Lenalee and I will be executed."

Miranda just gave a wordless nod against his shoulder. When she straightened up she dried her eyes and whispered, "I promise that I'll talk to you again. Maybe you can see the others in person, then. I wouldn't mind doing this again for you."

"Then we'll just have to do this again," he nodded. He hugged her again. "Miranda, may I kiss you?" He asked softly when the guard's footsteps approached the door.

"Yes," she gave her consent. It was a quick little press of the lips before she had to leave. "I'll talk to you later, right?"

"I promise we'll talk again," he nodded as Time Record was deactivated and his eyes returned to their scarred over state.

* * *

Miranda barely made it out of the hallway of cells before she broke down. She sank to rest on her knees on the floor as she covered her face and sobbed so hard her body shook. She eventually moved her hands from her face so she could hug herself as she sobbed. She knew that Komui would be doing everything he could to get the charges dropped but the chances that he would succeed would be very low.

The guard that had escorted Miranda made no move to comfort her. He only stood there and waited for her to stop sobbing so he could escort her back up to Komui's office to do her mission report.

Finally Miranda managed to drag herself to her feet. She still had tears dripping down her face and she still shook as she tried not to begin sobbing again. She went back through the labyrinth of hallways to Komui's office.

Her feet felt heavy by the time she reached the office and she barely had the energy to shuffle over the papers to Komui's desk for the papers to fill out for her mission report. Komui looked as hopeless as she felt. None of his usual antics or shenanigans were around and he was silently doing his work. There were dark circles under his eyes and the callouses on his writing hand were far more pronounced than normal. He had been there for a long while. Miranda felt as if she had to take a deep breath just to get words out, "Excuse me, Chief Komui, may I have my mission papers?"

He barely glanced up from the work before he grabbed a small folder of papers from the corner of his desk and handed them to her.

"I'm sorry, about Lenalee..." Miranda whispered softly as she accepted the papers. She walked to the couch in his office to fill them out. She didn't feel like walking much further.

"Don't give up hope on them yet," Komui said quietly. "General Teidoll contacted me. Kanda is coming back to try and help. He should be back tonight."

"Will that really do much to prove their innocence?" Miranda asked softly. She looked at the papers in her mission folder. There weren't as many as there normally would have been. She didn't question the fact as she began filling them out.

"He's a general now. His word will be taken with higher value. If he stays, there will be nothing to charge Lenalee and Marie with," Komui explained. His own eyes stayed on the work in front of him but the pen he used traced idly across the paper.

Miranda actually filled out the papers in front of her. She didn't even react to the news that Kanda was a general. "So he just has to stay and they'll be safe?"

"Yes. I only hope that we can get his help with the situation," Komui sighed softly. He set down his pen to grab his mug from the edge of his desk. When he went to take a sip he realized it was empty.

Miranda glanced up and noticed. Despite her lack of energy she at least wanted to try and help someone. She set her papers on his desk and softly offered, "I could go get you some coffee from the cafeteria, if you would like."

"That would be lovely. Thank you," he nodded with another long sigh. He handed the mug over.

Miranda took the mug carefully. She turned to walk out. Her steps were still slow and shuffled and her shoulders still drooped unhappily. It took her far longer to reach the cafeteria than it normally would have. The room, again, seemed empty despite the finders there. She went to the ordering window and asked Jerry to put on water to make the coffee.

Miranda sat silently at a table near the ordering window. Once the water was heated she mixed some of the coffee mix with it. She slowly walked back to Komui's office with the cup in hand. When she got back she opened the door and saw Kanda standing in front of Komui's desk talking to him.

"Don't expect me to take on any students. I'm doing this for them, and only them," Kanda gruffly demanded.

"I understand. You will be given freedom to move about so long as your location and actions are known by the Order. Thank you, Kanda. I know what you're giving up to do this," Komui's voice was truly grateful.

"Tch, I'm doing it to help Lenalee and Marie. That's the only reason. Now, let's get this whole general thing over with so I can go back to what I was doing," Kanda seemed as impatient as ever as Komui filled out a few papers and handed them to Kanda.

"Just take these Inspector Rouvelier. You'll be free to do as you please, then," Komui nodded. Once Kanda had left he relaxed and laid his head down on his desk. "My baby sister will be okay..."

Miranda silently set the coffee down. She felt like crying all over again, but this time it was out of relief. She sat back down on the couch with her mission file and gave a long sigh. She looked up at the ceiling and murmured a soft thanks to whatever deity had allowed things to work out so well.

* * *

By that evening Marie and Lenalee had been freed from their confinement and the charges had been dropped. Marie stood before Miranda's door with a hand raised to knock when the door opened.

"Marie? You're really out?" Miranda's tone held a hint of disbelief. All thoughts of going to take a shower slipped form her mind and the towel she held slipped from her hands as she took two quick steps forward to hug him tightly. "You're alive!"

He smiled warmly at her and hugged her. "Yes, I promised I would keep fighting alongside you all in this war, did I not?"

"You did. You did! I'm sorry I didn't believe you," she whispered against his shoulder. "Thank you for keeping your promise, Marie..."

"I'll always keep my promises, Miranda," he promised softly. He pressed a light kiss to the top of her head. "Always."

* * *

A/N: This is the last chapter before the epilogue! Oh my goodness I have so many feels about ending this story!


	29. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.

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Epilogue

Miranda looked around the little house. There was a bright smile on her face as she walked around. "Oh, Marie, this is perfect!"

"I thought I had found a good place," he smiled gently as he followed her. "The people in this town are plenty friendly, too. I'm sure you'll like it here." Marie had yet to mention to Miranda that it was his hometown where they were looking at the small home.

"Wait, how long did you spend here on your assignment?" she looked at him curiously over her shoulder. She thought he had only spent a day or two in the town on his last assignment during the duration of the Holy War.

"I was only here then for a day or two, but this is where I grew up before I joined the Order," Marie admitted, "My father helped me find this place, when I came back here last week."

"Marie, that's amazing! Your parents are still alive here?" Miranda looked around the house with a giddy grin as she walked about and looked at everything in the empty house.

"Yes, and most of my siblings, too," he nodded. He walked with her and leaned against the wall just inside one of the bedrooms. "My parents said we would be allowed to stay with them until we get settled in here and can find work. I think you'll get along very well with my mother. Even as old as she is now she's still a very active person. At least in crafts."

Miranda turned around to look over the whole room. "This room is the perfect size for a nursery... If we decide to start a family." She sounded a little hesitant on the last part. She had never asked Marie for his views on such a thing. Even if they had discussed having a life together after the war they had never thought beyond marriage.

"I think that it would be a good idea to set it aside for that," Marie could hear the quickening of her pulse. "I think it would be wonderful to talk more about possibly starting a family at some point."

Miranda relaxed with a little sigh, "This room is just the right size for that. Let's go through the rest of the house." Her excitement was back in an instant and she walked to the hallway. She next went to the room across the hall. "This one could be our room!"

"Yes, it could be," Marie followed with an ever apparent smile. Even if he couldn't see most of the house he could get a vague gauge of the sizes of the rooms that they stood in.

"Oh! I brought Time Record, Marie. Would you like to get a look at the house?" Miranda quickly asked. The thought hadn't crossed her mind the whole time they were there. She had been too excited.

"How about later? You're bound to be tired from traveling all the way here by train," Marie didn't want her overdoing it and causing herself to pass out. It had happened once before and he had been far more cautious about how often he let her heal his eyes since then. Going back a full twelve years, even if she had become far more skilled, was still too much for her.

"Are you sure?" Miranda asked with a bit of a frown. "I really don't mind doing so for a short while!"

"I'll take a look around with you later, I promise. For now I think I'm content just imagining what it all looks like," Marie assured softly. He had grown quite fond of making a game about guessing how things looked.

"Okay," she finally seemed to accept this answer. Her excitement bounced back quickly again and she looked around, "Yes, this will be the perfect room for us to stay in. The last room can be for any kids we have in the future once they're a bit older. And the kitchen was just wonderful! This place really is perfect!"

Marie smiled, "Is this where you would like to spend the rest of your life?"

"Yes, I would love to spend the rest of my life here, no matter how long or short that may be," she said softly as she looked around the room. She went back out to the front room.

Marie followed her back to the front room. He said, "Then let's live here. Komui agreed to use money from the Order to help all of us settle into new lives. I'll negotiate a price. Until then, we can go stay at my parents' house. It's not far; let's go there now so you can meet them and rest for a little while."

"This is all so wonderful, Marie. I'm so afraid I'm going to wake up and this will all be a dream," she sighed.

"It's not, don't worry. My parents are excited to meet you," he offered her a small smile as he picked up her suitcase and walked with her out of the house. He locked up the door behind them and went to the next house to return the key to the man who was currently in possession of the house. After that he led Miranda in the direction of his parents' home.

They hadn't even gotten to the front door before it was an opened and an older man leaning on a cane came out to greet them. His stature was much like Marie's with broad shoulders. In his youth he had likely been quite tall, though know he walked a little hunched over. "There you are, son! Your mother and I have been waiting for an hour for you to get here! This must be Miranda. It's lovely to meet you. Come in, you must be exhausted. Noise said you had quite a ways to travel to get here to meet him!"

Miranda seemed a little taken off guard by how quickly the man seemed to greet her and invite her inside. She followed Marie inside of the house.

"Noise, take her things to the room you're staying in," his father told him before turning to Miranda, "His mother has been quite excited about meeting you. She's just in the living room."

"All right," she smiled brightly.

Marie couldn't help a fond smile. When he was younger him and his father had really had differing opinions and often ended up arguing, but that had changed. He had been staying with his parents for that week and he was getting along so well with the both of them. He took Miranda's suitcase to the room that used to be his when he was younger. None of his siblings were still living in the house, but back when they had he had shared the room, so there were multiple beds. He set Miranda's suitcase down on the bed nearest to the door before he went back to see how things were going.

Miranda was sitting down on the couch in the living room across from his mother. Timidly, Miranda smiled, "I'm Miranda Lotto, it's very kind of the two of you to allow me to stay here."

"Anything for our future daughter in law," Marie's mother smiled sweetly. She was a woman who may have once stood tall and quite intimidating, but now she was curled and frail looking. She set aside the knitting she was doing and adjusted the thick glasses that obscured her eyes.

Miranda's face went bright red at the woman's words, "O-Oh, w-we've only really talked about things like that, we're not even engaged yet!"

"He was right, you are easily flustered," the woman gave an innocent little laugh. "I'm Edda. It's very lovely to meet you, dear." She offered a crooked little hand to shake.

Miranda lightly shook her hand, "It's very nice to meet you, too."

"You two seem to be getting along well," Marie commented jovially as he came in to join them. He sat beside Miranda on the couch.

"Yes, she's very kind," Miranda nodded with a shy little upturn of her lips.

"You found yourself a lovely young lady to bring home, Noise. She's very polite," Edda added after Miranda spoke.

Marie couldn't help a chuckle at how well they seemed to be getting on. He had expected that, "Mother, Miranda likes to sew. Perhaps sometime you two could work together on something."

"You sew, dear? Oh I used to do such lovely embroidery. I'm afraid I'm better at crochet and knitting now, but I would love to work with you," the woman was nothing but happy at this news. She hadn't had a craft buddy for a long while.

"Yes, I've sewed things since I was small. I made the jacket that Marie is wearing right now," Miranda smiled proudly, "I've wanted to learn to do other things like crochet and knit, though! Perhaps you could teach me something some time."

"That's a wonderful idea, absolutely wonderful," Edda nodded her approval. "You really did bring home a nice young woman, Noise."

Both Miranda and Marie's faces flushed at this comment. Miranda couldn't help hiding her face against Marie's shoulder out of embarrassment.

"Sorry about her, Edda likes to embarrass people," Marie's father had come back into the room. "Dinner should be ready soon. I assume the two of you will be staying?"

"Yes, we will be staying. Thank you for letting me come back here after all this time," Marie nodded.

"Of course, Noise. You're our son. We would let you come back any time," his father smiled. After a moment, he said, "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? I'm Medwin. It's good to have you here, Miranda."

Miranda sat quietly until he introduced himself. She offered a hand to shake, "It's nice to meet you, Medwin. I'm very happy to be here."

The rest of the evening was filled with happy conversations and good food.

By the time Miranda was in the room where she and Marie would be staying she was exhausted, but happy. She changed into some more comfortable clothes that she had brought and laid down. "Your parents are very nice, Marie..."

"Yes, they are. I can't believe I used to get into so many arguments with them," he shook his head. He was leaning back against the wall while he sat on one of the beds. In the room there were four beds.

"Teenagers can be stubborn," she chuckled softly. "It's nice here... I think I'll like living in this town."

"I thought you would. And I'm very glad you do think so," he smiled softly and got up to walk over to her bed. He sat on the edge of the bed, "I'm so glad we both made it this far, Miranda."

"I am too," she murmured softly. She shifted so she could reach forward and hold his hand. "It's nice, thinking that we'll be able to live normally now... I just hope I can find a job that I don't get fired from."

"I'm sure you'll be able to," he pressed a kiss to her hand. "You should rest, now. It was a long day for you."

"Thank you," she smiled softly as she settled down to sleep. She let her eyes slip closed as Marie went to his own bed.

* * *

"This house does look nice," Marie agreed softly as he walked with her through the house. He was, for once, having trouble staying calm. His heart pounded and he couldn't help feeling at his pocket to make sure he had the little box with him.

"It will be perfect!" Miranda's smile was brighter than ever and her eyes shone happily. "I'm so glad that you found it."

"I am, too. I'm also glad I found you," he smiled softly at her. "I love you so much."

She sheepishly glanced at the ground before murmuring, "I love you, too. I can't wait to move in and make this place truly feel like home."

"You know, home is best complete with someone to spend your life with in it," he said softly as he slowly lowered himself to one knee and held out the little box he had carried in his pocket. "Will you marry me, Miranda Lotto? We can make this place feel like our home together."

A smile broke out wide across Miranda face and tears filled her eyes, "Yes! Of course! Yes!" She helped him back to his feet and hugged him. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Marie grinned and hugged her back. He buried his face against her hair and then pulled his head back enough to plant a light kiss on her lips. "Thank you, Miranda..." He slipped the ring onto her finger.

"I love you so much! Oh, this is the best day ever!" Miranda was crying happy tears and smiling the whole time she spoke. "I'm so happy right now! I want to stay with you forever!"

"We may not have forever, but we can stay together for a long time," he smiled and hugged her again. "Let's start a new life here. Let's start a family, and do something with the time we have left."

Miranda hugged him tightly again, "Absolutely..."

* * *

A/N: Well, there you have it! Thank you so so much to those of you that stuck with me through this story! I'm so sorry that the updates became so staggered and slow, but crocheting is slow taking over my life and I'm forgetting about all of my stories except my book Xp Keep your eyes peeled, here and on AO3, for a story called Soft Gestures! It's a modern AU involving these cute dorks, and I posted a series of drabbles on AO3 called the Strings of Time! Feel free to request anything from me in reviews or PMs, and again, thank you so much for sticking with me through this whole story!


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